A Royal Spring
by Phoenix of Starlight
Summary: Mammon returns, Lussuria burns down the Varia headquarters, Fran becomes a maid, and Bel hardly changes because he's simply the prince. Third in the 'A Royal-' series, after A Royal Meeting and A Royal Winter. OOC-ness, B26, 6918, XS
1. Chapter 1: Alla us are Hobos

A Royal Spring Chapter One.

ACKNOWLEGMENT TIME!

Thank you to my reviewers of A Royal Winter~ (number next to is how many times reviewed, sorry if I mess anything up.)

YearOfThePanda, XxSoRoXasxX (10), DarkVampireDutchess (5), Jasdebitto, AnimeOtakuDeGozaru, Pr1nc3LuvsFr0ggy, Puu-chan, KiLlInG mE sOfTlIe (3), DrippingPurpleMelodies (6), Lynne-chann (2), m8zheng (2)

If I left you out, then I either made a mistake, or you were NeverMakeSense. Anonymous people, well... alright, I'll give you the benefit because I couldn't help.

inuki & Anonymous172

Well, I just posted the last chap of A Royal Winter and don't exactly have an idea yet, so I'll just move along and see what my brain makes me do~

And I'm going to start trying to type Belphegor instead of Belphagor, but I don't plan to edit every chap of my previous fanfics, okay?

* * *

><p>"Leo-kun, you got a text from someone~"<p>

"Ah, I got it."

Mukuro, disguised as Byakuran's subordinate, ran over to the table where he'd left his phone and flipped it open. He was suprised to see that Hibari had somehow gotten his- Leonardo's- number.

'Fran's alive.'

Mukuro smiled and shut his phone again.

"Who was it from, Leo-kun?" asked Byakuran, stretched out on the couch.

"A friend of mine," Mukuro replied, "from before I joined under your lead."

Byakuran stood and walked over to him. "I have a question."

"Huh?"

"Which do you think goes better with ice cream: big marshmallows or small marshmallows?"

"Uhh..."

A year later... (One year after TYL- This is where it's really beginning.)

"Aw~, I liked you better when you looked like a person," Fran muttered as the reborn Mammon floated behind him.

"Hey, I never said I wanted to get back here. I was rather having fun where I was," the Arcobaleno growled, looking frustrated to hear his voice all childish once again.

"Which reminds the prince," interrupted Bel, "Where did Monta go? Heaven or Hell?"

Mammon shrugged. "Beats me. All I know was that there was a lot of gold there."

"You never bothered to try and find anyone and ask?" Fran asked.

"Nope," Mammon said, before landing on top of Fran's hat. "This makes for a convenient resting point."

"Get off," Fran said instantly, "You don't need to hitchhike."

"Yeah I do," Mammon argued, "You owe me."

"Don't even start with that," the younger illusionist growled, "You acted purely on your own will."

"Bel~, Fran's being mean!" Mammon protested.

"Shishishi, come on, ladies, no need to fight over the prince," Bel giggled, simply loving that Mammon was back- which meant twice the attention he usually got.

"Senpai, I'm a guy, and Mammon's a guy. That means the only 'lady' there could be here is you," Fran muttered. Bel rolled his eyes and took a knife out on the kouhai, who immediately shielded himself with Mammon. Bel stopped when Mammon became involved, and reluctantly put away his knife.

"Not cool, Froggy," he pouted.

"You have no room to talk, mister 'seme every day and every night'," Fran pointed out, placing Mammon on Bel's shoulder, where he was actually appreciated.

"Shishishi, but of course, the prince is seme- it's not like Froggy could."

"I so can!"

"Guys, please don't argue about this in front of me," protested Mammon, folding his arms.

"Sorry, Monta," apologized Bel.

The three walked into the kitchen and simultaneously took their seats; Mammon, of course, getting rather agitated when he saw multiple phonebooks on his chair. "Hey! I can reach the table!" he protested to Squalo.

"Voi, I didn't set those up."

"Hai hai~ Breakfast is ready everyone~!" called the extravagent Sun Guardian of the Varia as he stepped into the room. He hopped up to Mammon. "Is that enough phonebooks, Mammon-chan?"

Mammon made a hissing noise under his breath before shouting out, "DAMNED ARCOBALENO!"

Bel and Fran both chuckled slightly at their companion's frustration. "Don't worry," giggled Bel, "I'm sure you'll cure your curse someday."

Fran grinned as the frustrated Mist Arcobaleno lifted himself with tentacles, pushed the phonebooks onto the floor and took his chair. Lussuria sighed and patted Mammon's hat in a 'aww' sort of manner before scurrying back into the kitchen. "So, is Mammon our Mist, or is Fran still our Mist?" asked Squalo to Xanxus.

"I don't care who the freaking Mist trash is," growled Xanxus, glaring at his Rain, "Let the damned children figure it out."

Fran, Bel and Mammon all looked at Xanxus. "Well, bossu is in a bad mood today, did Squalo force him into an uke role?" asked Bel. Fran and Mammon looked incredulous at the prince's utter stupidity, both gasping when a wine glass hit its mark directly against the Storm's head. Bel grunted with pain and rubbed his forehead, a frog instantly worrying over him.

"You ought to shut your freaking mouth, prince trash," hissed Xanxus. Squalo shuffled nervously in his seat and bit his lip. Bel immediately sat up straight again.

"Heeeh? So what happened if not that?"

Xanxus began to draw out a gun on the Storm, but Squalo sat up and grabbed his arm. "Xanxus," he said. The boss looked up at him, threat in his blood red gaze, but the Rain soon began to sooth the wrath of the Sky with eyes that seemed to shoot tranquility darts at him. He sighed with defeat and put the gun away.

"You, me, bed, tonight," he snapped at Squalo. Squalo nodded.

"Alright, boss."

"Aha! You see, the prince settles conflict so awesomely!" Bel announced, suddenly becoming the loudest one at the table.

Fran and Mammon simultaneously groaned and facepalmed, though Mammon ended up cursing his little hand.

Meanwhile, while everyone were discussing random events and killings, Lussuria was busy in the kitchen. 'Mm... oh dear, I do believe I left the new packages of cinnamon in the basement storage...'

Lussuria backed off from the pan that he was cooking in and bit his lip. 'Alright, if I hurry, everything should be fine,' he told himself, before sneaking out of the kitchen for the basement.

A few minutes later...

Out of the corner of his eye, he barely saw the flicker of a flame. His head snapped to see of it was true, and his eyes widened when he saw a huge fire in the kitchen.

"B-boss!" yelped Mammon, "Everyone! Fire!"

All the Varia stood to attention, following the point of one of Mammon's tentacles. They saw the fire, and all turned instantly to Squalo. "Squalo! Rain! Rain flames!" everyone stuttered/screeched at once. Squalo got out of his daze instantly and opened his shark box weapon.

Everybody watched with horror as the Rain class flames from Squalo's shark, along with Squalo's own Rain flames directly from his ring, failed to put out the kitchen fire. "Head outside!" shouted Xanxus gruffly, before he grabbed his lover's arm. "Give it a break, scum, it won't work." Squalo hastily returned the shark to its box before following Xanxus out the door. They were met by Fran and Bel hurriedly explaining the situation to a Lussuria, and Levi, naturally, was waiting for Xanxus. Lussuria understood the urgency of the matter, for once in his life, before it was too late, and everyone managed to hurry out of the Varia headquarters.

"No one's still in there, right?" Xanxus managed, standing and looking about his small group of Guardians.

"A few trainees might get killed off, but all the Guardians- plus Monta- are out," Bel informed the boss. Fran shivered.

'If I had joined the Varia recently, that stupid prince would just let me die.'

"Voi! How did this all happen?" roared a certain angry shark, flailing his sword at the sky as if to slash all the sunshine away. The Varia turned on Lussuria.

"Hey, YOU'RE the only one in the kitchen!"

"Yeah, why weren't you in there!"

"What's wrong with you?"

CRASH.

Upon hearing a window shatter from the pressure and heat, every member of the Varia were momentarily hushed. During the silence, Lussuria spoke up.

"I- I forgot the cinnamon."

After another pause, everyone shouted out, "WHAT THE HELL DID WE NEED CINNAMON FOR?"

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>What do you need cinnamon for? For a delicious plot, of course! Muahaha!<p>

And there's the basis for 'A Royal Spring'. I'm sorry, Lussuria, I don't mean to make you look stupid. *pretends to pat head but makes sure that doesn't actually touch*

This is up now and not tomorrow because my kouhai insisted that I don't read it to her and just post it. Everyone say thanks to my kouhai!  
>Please Review, It makes me work faster, I'm not kidding!<p>

Btw, this is the start of spring break for me, so I'll hopefully be able to upload a LOT.


	2. Chapter 2: Alla Hobos Are Broke

A Royal Spring Chapter Two

Dark-yokokitsune. Forgot to mention you, 'm sorry~! *gives cookie of apology*

Anyone else I accidentally left out? Let me know if I messed up on anyone else.

Ah ha ha, I'm on a plane! (Yamamoto moment!)  
>Okay, I'm listening to music, I'm seriously on a plane going to... whoops, can't say. Sorry peoples~!<br>Anyone have suggestions for my next three fanfictions in this series? Yeah, I'm going beyond trilogy, if I haven't told you yet.  
>The next three are...<p>

A Royal Summer (I have a suggestion for the Varia to vacation at the beach, but I'm not sure if I can make that take up eighteen chapters, ne?)  
>A Royal Fall (Totally open to suggestions for this one!)<br>A Royal End (I will consider ideas, but I'll probably come up with a plot for this one soon, since it would be the last one.)

Oh, and would someone tell me what six times eighteen is?  
>Bel: Why can't you figure it out yourself?<br>Me: Fine! *works it out*  
>18 x 6=108<p>

Woah! That's a lot!  
>Bel: Hardly.<br>Me: It is too! *whacks shoulder with rolled up fanfiction* Then, by time this ends, if I keep up the 18 chap tradition, I'll have 108 chapters throughout the whole series.  
>Bel: Well, you only have 19 chapters done, so how about you start writing?<br>Me: Oh, yeah.

* * *

><p>Outside Varia headquarters, No time has passed since I left off.<p>

Fran sighed sadly as another window exploded. "Great. Who's going to take care of this?"

Squalo stopped strangling Lussuria and looked back to the burning headquarters. "Well, brat, if I knew, I wouldn't be taking out all this stress on Lussuria, would I?"

"Yes, you would," replied Bel, "After all, this IS Lussuria's fault."

"You wanna be strangled next, scum?" threatened Xanxus.

"No thanks," replied Bel nonchalantly, folding his arms behind his head as he grinned.

"Senpai," called Fran. The prince looked at him. "You realize we won't be able to share a bed if there is no bed."

"Whaddaya mean?" asked Bel, before the grin on his face abruptly vanished. "Hey... We don't have a headquarters."

"DID YOU JUST FIGURE THAT OUT NOW?" roared Squalo.

"Yeah, I just figured it out now, what about it?" the prince mumbled, "but, Froggy..." Fran nodded for Bel to go on. "Does this make us... hobos?"

"Senpai," muttered Fran, shaking his head with disappointment in the prince.

"Hey, I had to ask, didn't I?" Bel protested. Suddenly, Lussuria shrieked, causing everyone to turn on him.

"Is this about your 'beauty products?'" asked Squalo. Lussuria nodded worriedly, and ended up getting hit with...

"... I don't have any wine on me," grumbled Xanxus, "You're lucky, scum."

"Yay, everyone pick on the boss while he's unarmed!" cheered Fran. The boss reached into his pocket and drew out a pistol, pointing it dangerously at the younger illusionist. Fran blinked twice and pointed at Mammon. "He said it."

The boss sighed and put the gun away. "Stop messing around, scum," he ordered, "This is a serious situation."

Bel nudged Fran. "Why'd you do that?"

"Cause I was about to die," Fran answered simply. He felt something whiplike lash over his back and yelped with pain, jumping forward and against Bel. He looked behind him. "Mammon!" he protested.

"You were being mean," the Arcobaleno told him.

BANG!

Everyone jumped slightly and looked to Xanxus, who had fired his gun into the air so that they would quiet down. "I said to stop fooling around, scum." He took out his cell phone. "I'm going to call Tsunayoshi."

The other Varia stayed deadly silent as their boss called the tenth generation Vongola, a dark expression on his face.

...

It was taking a while.

"... The line's busy."

Everyone groaned at the Vongola, before Xanxus cleared his throat for attention once more. "Alright, alright, everyone get your cell phones out and call."

All the Varia drew out their phones.

"Ah, bossu, what's his number?" asked Bel.

Xanxus showed him the number on his phone, so the prince dialed it, then gave the number to Fran. Soon, everyone was calling him.

"Busy," grunted Squalo.

"Same," agreed Mammon.

"Here here," Fran mumbled.

"Stupid brat," growled Xanxus.

"Mou~," pouted Lussuria.

"Man I hate that kid," huffed Levi.

Everyone looked at Bel. The prince grinned and nodded at them. "Vongola, this is the prince ... hey!"

"What is it?" asked Xanxus. Bel looked crestfallen.

"He hung up on me!"

The Varia began shouting, some curses, others just random words.

"Everyone text him!" yelled Xanxus. The Varia quickly began to text messages to the Vongola at a violent speed.

* * *

><p>"I tell you, Reborn, the wierdest people call me," muttered the Vongola, sitting back in his chair.<p>

"You should've taken that call," his tutor replied, "Who was it?"

"No idea."

Suddenly, about twenty-six beeps rang out all at once, and the Vongola jumped as he saw several messages appearing on his phone. He tried to read the words, but only managed to read two of each before the next message popped up.

'You brat- Vongola!- The prince- Listen!- Fire!- My perfume is- We're ruined!'

"What the...?" Tsuna muttered. "What's all this about?"

Reborn looked at his phone. "That's Xanxus's number. And that one is Belphegor, Squalo, Leviathan... You ought to call Xanxus." (A/N: First time I've used Leviathan instead of Levi in a fanfiction. Ever.)

"Uhh... alright?"

* * *

><p>"Everyone stop, I'm getting a call," Xanxus said. The sound of beeping died down, and Xanxus (almost) smiled with triumph. "It's Tsunayoshi," he announced before answering. "Vongola," he acknowledged.<p>

(Uhh... Is something going on?)

"Hell yeah, something's going on," the Varia boss muttered. "Lussuria burned down our headquarters."

(*sigh* Not today...)

"Yeah, today. Now you gonna help us or what?"

(Uhh... do I have to?)

"I guess that's your choice, but we're the strongest force in the Vongola."

In a low voice, the Vongola responded,

(No, Hibari-san is the strongest force in the Vongola. [his voice returned to normal-] Alright, I'll head over with Shoichi and Spanner. I'll be there in two days, got it?)

"Good."

(See you then.)

"...Scum."

Xanxus closed his phone and looked around. "We've got two days. What do you all wanna do?"

"Let's all buy hobo clothes and act like hobos!" Bel announced, jumping up and down.

"Two days? That's nothing!" chuckled Fran.

"I know, right?" Mammon agreed, high fiving the other Mist with a tentacle.

"Voi, I say we go fishing," suggested Squalo.

"Whaaat? But none of that seems very... very... uhm... word!"

"Attractive."

"Thanks Bel-chan! Being a homeless person or going fishing, neither of those would let me keep my personality and sanity in tact!" protested Lussuria.

"We don't care what you think, you're the reason we're out here," Xanxus told him.

CRASH!

Everyone looked at where the headquarters was burning only seconds ago. "Woo! Now we're officially homeless!" cheered Bel, before hugging Fran. All that was left was ashes.

"Yay," Fran said sarcastically. Mammon sighed.

"Hey, why don't we check and see if anything's left?" he asked. Everyone silently agreed by walking off towards the burned headquarters. Fran and Bel began to kick up ashes, so Squalo hurried over and pulled them away from the base.

"Voi, we don't want all that flying around in the air, so you two just stay here." Bel pouted, and Fran rolled his eyes, but both agreed by walking over to a tree and sitting down.

Mammon was looking purely to see if any euros were still there, which there weren't, but he ended up finding a few good knives, which he threw to Bel. Squalo was checking everything that he found for surviving objects that could be useful. But all of a sudden...

"Ah, finally!"

...everyone turned on Lussuria. He was holding up a pink bottle that was filled with...

"I found my perfume!"

...a random beauty product.

"Voi, Luss," grunted Squalo, stepping towards him. Lussuria looked at him.

"Yes, Squ-chan?"

"Let me see that for a moment."

"It's about time you got intrested in this kind of thing, Squ-chan," praised Lussuria, handing him the bottle. He ended up regretting it.

Squalo, as it turns out, had a really good arm from all that practicing with his sword, in fact, it was attatched to his hand, so when he threw the perfume, it was clear that no Varia would be seeing it ever again. In fact, unless you lived in the forest between Rome and Florence, as Fran and Mammon once had, you probably wouldn't see it. Maybe that bear would.

Fran and Bel both applauded when a very distant shatter was heard, while Lussuria pouted about it, his arms folded with frustration. "I needed that, Squ-chan," Lussuria protested.

"We all did," Squalo agreed in a voice over-saturated in sarcasm. "Now what are we doing for two days?"

"I'd advise a hotel," muttered Xanxus, "but all the hotels we have in these parts are crap." (A/N: No offence to Italy or its people, just keeping the plot moving.)

"Yay~! Froggy, we're hobos, let's dance together!" cheered Belphegor.

"Uh... no thank you," Fran replied, but was dragged to his feet by the prince anyway.

"Come on, Froggy, where's your Easter spirit?" Bel asked, leaning in to bribe his kouhai with a kiss. Fran just pushed him away.

"Not this time, senpai. Easter isn't for another two weeks, and for your information, last year, that was one of the worst days of my life," Fran told him bluntly.

"Aww, why's that?" protested Bel.

"I'll give you a hint. Rabbit. Costume."

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaah! But that got burned in the fire, so we won't be seeing Luss in it again."

"I hope not," said Fran with a shiver, before he looked to his other teammates. Mammon was swinging gently on a tree branch with a couple of tentacles, his expression solemn. "What's wrong?" Fran asked. Mammon shook his head.

"We're broke, kid. Our only hope is working directly for the Vongola until we earn back enough to afford new weapons to go on missions."

Everyone fell silent, even, suprisingly, Squalo.

"Earn?" questioned Bel, "I'm a prince."

"You're a hobo prince, senpai," muttered Fran.

"You're a hobo Froggy, Froggy," giggled Bel.

"Voi, what do you mean by 'working directly for the Vongola?" asked Squalo.

"Chores, cooking, stuff like that," Mammon said, "if they have someone come over to rebuild our base for us, then we may have to go to Japan anyway."

Lussuria raised his hand high in the air and said, "I can cook~!"

"No," said Xanxus instantly. Everyone looked at him, disbelieving.

"Voi, boss, Luss is the only one who could cook."

"Froggy could do it, but he'd have to be in a maid's outfit so I am kept entertained."

"No, senpai, we don't have a 'maid's outfit' option."

"I could-"

"No, Levi."

Xanxus looked around at his subordinates and grunted out, "He needs a punishment."

Confused still, the group all glanced at Lussuria, then back at their boss.

"Sun trash," Xanxus said, looking to his Sun Guardian, "You are banned from any and all kitchens until summer." Everyone gasped with suprise and shock, for Lussuria and the kitchen were meant to be, and Lussuria being forced to part from the kitchen meant... he was sad for once in his life.

"So who's gonna cook then?" asked Squalo. Bel raised Fran's hand, ignoring Fran's 'senpaaaaii' of complaint.

"Pick Froggy!" he said.

"Well, Fran, you can handle the noodle and rice dishes, but I'll handle sushi and other seafood dishes," said Squalo.

"Mou...," whined Lussuria.

"Alright... let's just all stay here and wait for Tsunayoshi," Xanxus said, then looked at Squalo, "Shark trash, go buy some random food."

"Xanxus, we're broke," the shark pointed out.

"NO FOOD FOR TWO DAYS?" gasped all the Varia at once

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Your review?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Alla Hobos Fall Over

A Royal Spring Chapter Three

Heeeeeeeeeeere's Phoenix!  
>Bel: Your name's not Phoenix.<br>Me: Whatever, I came up that name a long time ago.  
>Bel: Yeah, like four years?<br>Me: Around there, yeah. It was Phoenix Ninetales. Ninetales as in the Pokemon.  
>Bel: Wow, you DID make that up a long time ago.<br>Me: Uh huh. Is anyone here reading 'The Prince and His Pet'? It's a fanfiction that I'm going to start working on it alongside the 'A Royal-' series since I've finished 'Viper or Mammon?'. It's B26, and it's LIKE the Princess and the Frog, but it's different. More detailed, AU, multi-chap, and starts with prince Bel finding a mother frog and a group of tadpoles. :)  
>Anyway, this is 'A Royal Spring,' so...<p>

WRITING IN

3...  
>2...<br>1...  
>NOW~!<p>

* * *

><p>Outside the ruin of Varia Headquarters, one day after I left off.<p>

"Hm? Froggy, did you get any sleep last night?" asked Bel, looking worriedly at Fran. Fran shook his head.

"A dreadful rumbling sound kept me up...," he murmured.

Squalo suddenly rushed over and hushed them. "Shhh! Don't talk about it," he ordered.

"Voo~oi, why not?" Fran said, mocking Squalo's 'voi'.

"That was Xanxus," Squalo whispered, "He's really hungry, and if you two don't shut up and keep yourselves from embarassing him, he'll be eating YOU next!"

"Oooh, that's cannibalism," Fran scolded, glancing over at the boss. Indeed, Xanxus was watching for anything that could be food, so it could be said that the boss was very, VERY hungry.

"He's used to being served steak almost every hour," Fran recalled, "this must be totally new to him."

"No, brat, it's not new to him," growled Squalo, "he's just not used to hunger in this extremity."

"Bossu didn't get to eat for a really long time when we were fighting in the Sky ring battle," Bel pointed out. Squalo nodded.

"So don't go and complain over it, you'll pass out from lack of sleep eventually anyway." With that, the long-haired swordsman walked away.

"Well," Fran mumbled when he had left, "That's just great."

"Hey, the prince is tired too, he didn't get a lot of sleep either."

"Oh, because of Mammon?" Fran inquired.

"Yeah. The prince kind of pities Monta too. To think he was so upset about the money that he woke up screaming!" Bel said, still somewhat jostled from the moment.

"It was kind of funny, if you ask me," Fran said.

"Huh."

A distance away, Mammon was curled up into a ball, resting under a tree, his indigo eyes bloodshot. 'All our savings... gone... just like that!' He looked up, his hood pulled back slightly to reveal his insane gaze, and glared at the Sun Guardian. 'And it's ALL. LUSSURIA'S. FAULT.'

Across from him stood Lussuria, wondering what to do about the absence of his perfume and such. "Mou...," he pouted quietly before starting to look for a mirror.

(Levi isn't very important, so excuse me, but we're moving right on to Squalo and Xanxus.)

Squalo walked back and sat down next to the sleeping Xanxus. "Boss," he whispered gruffly, "I'm going to go over to that lake I like to visit and see if I can catch us any fish."

Xanxus's blood-red eyes opened slightly so that he could look at the shark, before he nodded sleepily and closed his eyes with a grunt of agreement. Squalo grinned, kissed his boss on the cheek, stood, and left to go fishing. Instead of glancing back, he just told himself that the boss was probably, maybe, there was a chance that he was smiling.

* * *

><p>"Hey Froggy," whispered Bel that night, on his back to gaze up at the stars.<p>

"Yeah?" answered Fran, before he broke into a wide yawn.

"Being a hobo is fun. Let's do it more often," the prince told him.

"No thanks, senpai, I prefer a bed to grass," the younger illusionist. Fran felt Bel's arm move around his shoulders and pull him closer.

"But it's nice out here," the prince said, resting his head against the Mist Guardian. "And I like being able to call myself a princely hobo."

"Senpai," sighed Fran, "I've, quite frankly, gotten bored of the whole 'princely hobo' thing, you've been saying it since Squalo threw that fish at you."

"It was payback," Bel told him, "but then I realized it was fun to say."

"Well, stop it," Fran muttered, turning on his side to see the prince better. His bangs were brushed back so that the stars were reflected in that blood-red gaze that only a select few had seen before. Bel glanced at him.

"Enjoying the view, Froggy?" Bel asked. Fran blushed, before he realized that the prince was talking about the star-filled night sky, and replied in an embarassed tone,

"Heh heh... yeah... it's... it's beautiful."

And they both slept well that night.

Morning...

"Senpai, what did you do?" asked Fran, freaking out about the sight he awoke to. Bel had shredded his shirt for no apparent reason.

"Uh... I got hungry, but there was no food, so I got nervous," said Bel crookedly, trying to grin. After a heavy, dramatic sigh, Fran put a hand on his shoulder and said seriously,

"You're insane."

Bel nodded, smiling. "I know, Froggy."

Fran gave another sigh and stood up. "Anyone got a spare jacket?" he called out to the other Varia. No one did. "Aw, man," Fran pouted, before hesitantly taking off his own and handing it to Bel. "Here, you crazy prince."

Bel happily accepted it. "Thanks, Froggy."

"Huh, just remember that I'll be looking for ways to get you back," Fran muttered, hugging himself from the sudden cold of not having his Varia jacket on. He was only wearing a thin, white t-shirt under it after all. Still, when he looked back, he couldn't help thinking it was worth it to see the prince so cute.

All of a sudden, a noise above them all made everyone look up. "A helicopter?" questioned Lussuria, "Not the cleanest aircraft."

"We don't care what you think," grunted Squalo.

"But won't it be kind of cramped?" Levi pointed out. He was ignored.

"Yay~! Alla hobos riding on a helicopter! There should be a movie!" cheered Bel.

"Senpai," sighed Fran.

The helicopter landed, causing the weaker half of the Varia- plus Belphegor- to fall over. All sorts of ashes were pulled up into the air by the force of the propeller, causing the shark of the Varia to draw out his sword and start screaming his head off. He quieted when the cloud moved to his and Xanxus's side of the clearing. Finally, the propeller slowed to a stop, and the cloud of ash slowly settled like snow. Fran coughed awkwardly, then noticed that his white shirt was now gray.

"Aw, man," he protested.

"Ushi-*cough cough* shi!" Bel was laughing his head off and coughing at the same time, which was a pretty odd sight to anyone who happened to notice. As for Squalo, he'd been stunned into silence, but everyone noticed the slight color change in his hair that indicated that he'd gotten attacked by a lot of ash as well. Luckily for him, however, he'd managed to act as a shield for Xanxus, who would've been the most angry if he'd gotten ash'd. Lussuria pulled himself back up to his feet, muttering complaints under his breath. Mammon had fallen out of the tree, but hardly anyone had noticed. And Levi, of course, was trying to see if Xanxus was okay.

"Sorry everyone," said Tsuna, stepping out of the helicopter, followed closely by Spanner and Irie Shoichi- the mechanics. "But really, which idiot burned down the place again?"

Everyone pointed at Lussuria, Fran emphasized the point by saying, "It was the idiot with the freaky hairstyle, sir."

"This 'idiot' has a name, Fran-chan!" Lussuria protested, flailing his arms in a way that was rather comical.

"I don't care," Fran said flatly, before he looked to Bel, "You okay, senpai?"

"Sh-shishishi," Bel answered shakily, grinning, "Th-that was epic."

"Nice word, senpai," Fran agreed, before looking to the Vongola.

'Wow, the Vongola seems taller than last time... Oh yeah, the Ten-Year Bazooka thing...,' Fran remembered.

"Okay, Shoichi-san and Spanner are going to rebuild, but as for all you...," Tsunayoshi drifted off, looking around the group.

"We're coming with you!" Mammon spoke up, "We'll do housework and earn money until our base is rebuilt."

"Yay, way to decide for the whole group," Fran said sarcastically.

"Houswork...?" the Vongola asked, looking nervously over at Lussuria.

"Don't worry, he will NOT be cooking," Xanxus told him, finally standing up from his spot under a tree. "Fran will."

"But bossu~!" complained Fran, looking frustrated.

"Don't worry about it, Fran," said Squalo, "He's gonna make me cook too, and if Bel gets you to cook in a maid's outfit, I'm sure Xanxus will do the same to me."

"Oh no, that's even worse!" deadpanned Fran, "Senpai, save me, I'm gonna be stuck cooking with a shark in uniform!"

"Sorry, the prince can't help Froggy this time, he actually would rather like to see that," Bel said, smirking. Fran's jaw hit the floor.

"Senpai!" he protested.

"Alright, everyone get on, you're too noisy," grunted Spanner, a wrench-shaped sucker in his mouth as he stepped out of the helicopter. When no one budged, Mammon practically threw a temper tantrum.

"ALL OF YOU GET ON THE DAMN HELICOPTER BEFORE I KILL YOU ALL!"

Knowing that the Arcobaleno probably meant it, everyone ran to make sure they weren't the last one on. Tsunayoshi leapt to the side as the Varia all ran in, startled by their determination. The only one who took his time was Xanxus, and he knew very well that Mammon wouldn't be attacking him. Shoichi chuckled lightly.

"That explains why Mammon's an Arcobaleno- even with his size he's able to control most of the group."

"Yeah," agreed Tsunayoshi, before he looked back to the two and handed them each eight hundred euros while Mammon wasn't looking. "Okay, I'll send over Lambo and I-pin to deliever new materials, but don't hesitate to call and let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do, Vongola," said Spanner.

"We'll have it done in about three months," Shoichi added.

"Okay," Tsuna agreed, though in his mind he thought, 'I have to deal with the Varia for three months?'

"Well? Who's gonna drive this contraption?" asked Lussuria in a paniced, high-pitched voice.

"That sounded so uncool," sighed Fran.

"There's more to life than being cool," Levi told him. Fran rolled his eyes.

"What, like stalking Xanxus?"

That was enough to get the Lightning Guardian to shut up.

"VOI! VONGOLA BRAT, GET UP HERE!"

"Hai, hai," Tsuna said defeatedly, walking up into the helicopter. "Good luck, Spanner, Shoichi!" he called before he closed the door. This was going to be a long fly home.

-End Chapter

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><p>Thanks to all you people who reviewed 'A Royal Spring' so far: KokoroSawada, dark-yokokitsune, Lynne-chann, sakura 19971234, DrippingPurpleMelodies.<p>

I feel that acknowledging you will make you review more. XD I only upload fast because of reviews, after all~, you people are awesome!  
>Hai, hai~ I'll write the Next chap in 'The Prince and His Pet,' then I'll continue for chapter four of this one!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: Alla Hobos Can Fly

A Royal Spring Chapter Four

Hey all you peoples!  
>Bel: Get to the writing.<br>Me: Impatient prince...

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><p>"WE'RE ON A HELICOPTER!" shouted Bel to Fran.<p>

"SHUT UP, IT'S LOUD ENOUGH ALREADY!" droned Fran loudly, covering his ears.

"BUT WE'RE ON A HELICOPTER!" Bel repeated, pointing outside to prove his point.

"VOOOI! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID YOU DIDN'T NEED EARMUFFS!" Squalo screamed at Fran. The teal-haired illusionist turned a glare on the shark.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET YOU GUYS DRAG ME INTO THIS~!" shrieked Lussuria, who was squished against the window from the lack of space, giving him a pretty good idea of how far above the ground they all were.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT ANYWAY, GAYLORD!" raged Mammon, who was in Bel's lap.

"EVERYONE SHUSH! XANXUS IS-" started Levi, but he was cut off by the boss himself.

"QUIET DOWN, SCUM, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" yelled Xanxus.

To Tsunayoshi's great relief, everyone fell silent after that, even though there was no way Xanxus could sleep in this sort of environment. Well, that's what Tsuna thought. Everyone else were sure it was possible, considering all the OTHER situations in which Xanxus had fallen asleep.

1. In the middle of a battle.

2. A train during a thunderstorm.

3. While trying to find a new Mist Guardian to replace Mammon.

4. During a meeting with the other Vongola.

5. A taxi only traveling two miles.

6. The dinner table.

Which is why hardly any of the Varia thought that Reborn had problems when it came to falling asleep at bad times. Fran stole Bel's earmuffs and put them on. Bel started to protest, but Fran put his index finger to his lips in the universal 'shut up' signal, and pointed to Xanxus, an innocent look on his face. Bel made a very faint growling noise, then stole Squalo's. It was the worst move he could've made.

"VOOOOOOOOIIIII! BEL, YOU WANNA DIE?" Squalo shouted, pointing his sword threateningly at Bel.

"NO THANKS!" replied the prince, unintimidated by the shark's blade.

BUMP.

Xanxus had thrown whatever it was he could find to get them to shut up, which happened to have been a parachute. Unfortunately for him, all that did was bounce softly off of Squalo's head. "SHUT UP, SCUM," he said loudly, masking his angry embarassment that his only throwable option had to be something soft.

"My apologies, Xanxus," said Squalo, glaring at Bel before he sat down beside Xanxus.

Up front, Tsunayoshi sighed. 'Three months?' he thought anxiously, 'I hope we still have OUR base when that's over.'

About an hour later...

"Oh, are we here already?" Fran asked as the helicopter landed smoothly on the ground. He looked around his teammates, but was dissappointed to find that no one was awake. Somehow, Xanxus had managed to find some beer, got drunk and passed out, and Squalo soon followed suit. Levi felt that if the boss was asleep, he should sleep too, and Lussuria had passed out from the lingering shock of being in the aircraft to begin with. As for Bel, well, he'd woken up in the middle of the night, so he was still tired. Mammon, being in Bel's lap, was comfortable enough to fall asleep anyway. "A~aw, nobody's concious enough for me to annoy," Fran protested, folding his arms.

"I'm concious, but I'm annoyed already," sighed the Vongola. "Are you guys always this loud?"

"Hm...," Fran pondered the question, even though it didn't really require an answer. "I suppose so, unless someone gets loud enough to shock us into silence," he replied.

"Huh," Tsunayoshi said, stepping out of the helicopter.

"Woah, hey, are you gonna make ME wake them up?" asked Fran, trying to follow.

"It's just a fuel stop," Tsuna told him. Fran sighed with relief.

"Good... I thought that you we're gonna tell me I have to interrupt THAT," Fran said, pointing at Squalo and Xanxus, who had fallen asleep kind of squished together- thanks to Squalo's drunk attempts to get as far away from Levi as possible.

"Well, just leave them," Tsuna said as he worked to refill the fuel tank. "If you were to wake them up, they'd probably-"

"They'd ty to kill me," Fran cut off, "I know that, it's happened to Bel-senpai before."

The Vongola simply nodded in agreement, so Fran looked back around at his teammates- specifically Belphegor. The prince was sleeping lightly, his head resting on one of his hands, his other arm folded over his stomach. He was breathing softly through his mouth, his hair swept over just enough to barely cover his eyes. Fran smiled. 'Beautiful.'

He looked around at his other teammates. 'Bel's obviously the prince in this group,' he mused happily, sitting down beside the prince once more. "Maybe I've just been with him for too long," he said in a whisper as he leaned against the blonde.

The Vongola returned to the helicopter, and had to check to make sure the Varia were still there, because they were all so quiet. Seeing them all asleep so comfortably (he didn't see Lussuria) made the boss think that just for now, everything was right in the world.

*ringing*

"Ah, why now?" Tsuna mumbled as he grabbed his cell phone. "Hello?"

(Tsunayoshi, how are you?)

"Mukuro, what is it now?" asked the Vongola, trying to keep his voice low so that he didn't wake the Varia.

(I heard Fran's coming to visit, and I wanted to know if we can throw a party! [Parties are crowded, Rokudo, don't even think about-] Hush, Kyouya, I'm on the phone! Sheesh!)

"Hibari wouldn't like that," Tsunayoshi stood up for the ex-prefect who he knew was being ignored.

(I know, I know, he could stay in our room~ [Rokudo, what's the matter with you? You don't still love that other illusionist, do y-] Kyouya! I told you, I'm on the phone!)

"Now, Mukuro, don't get too excited about Fran, you should be paying more attention to Hibari," the boss said.

(Oh, come on, you two, don't gang up on me! [I told you not to have that last cup of coffee, Rokudo.] Kyouya, I will talk to you when this conversation is over! It's rude to interrupt people on the phone. [I don't care you little-] Kyouya, manners!)

"Mukuro, talk to Hibari," Tsuna ordered before hanging up.

"A~aw, is Master pissing off skylark-san again?" Fran asked; apparently, he hadn't been too asleep.

"He sure is," sighed Tsuna before he started up the helicopter again. Lussuria somehow got woken up by that, and he shrieked loudly, causing everyone else to slowly wake up. Bel groaned and went for a knife, but Fran stopped him.

"Don't stab Lussuria," Fran said just so that the prince could hear, "you don't know where he's been."

Bel agreed with that, and put the knife away, instead wrapped an arm around Fran. Lussuria started spazzing over the fact that the helicopter ride wasn't over, so Levi hit him. For once in his life, Levi had done something right. Once Squalo had woken up, however, it didn't matter whether Lussuria was spazzing or not. There would still be chaos.

"VOOOOIIIIIIIIII! HOW MUCH LONGER IS THIS STUPID RIDE GONNA TAKE?"

"QUIET SCUM," Xanxus commanded loudly. There was silence for a good ten seconds before Mammon suddenly yelled,

"I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LOST ALL OUR SAVINGS!" at Lussuria.

The Sun Guardian folded his arms and shouted, "WELL AT LEAST I'M PRETTY!"

All at once, the whole helicopter vibrated with everyone screaming, "YOU ARE NOT!"

Fran sighed heavily and looked up at Belphegor, suprised that the prince hadn't yelled at anyone yet. "Senpai?" he questioned. Bel looked at him and grinned. "Yeah, Froggy?"

"It's Fran, and why are you so quiet?" Fran asked. Bel shook his head.

"No idea," Bel replied, before shouting, "DO YOU WANT ME TO BE LOUDER, FROGGY?"

"No, no, it's fine!" Fran said, wincing from the loudness. 'Good thing I've got earmuffs now...' He glanced at Squalo and smirked when he saw that the shark was still the only one dealing with the real volume of the helicopter. He wondered if Squalo was deaf yet.

"HEY MAMMON!" Bel yelled at the Arcobaleno in his lap.

"YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT, BEL!" the Arcobaleno told him.

"YEAH, I DO!" the prince returned, "AND GUESS WHAT!"

"WHAT?"

"WE'RE A BUNCH OF HOBOS ON A HELICOPTER!" Bel cheered. Everyone kind of groaned at the prince, except for Xanxus, who just rolled his eyes. Tsunayoshi sighed and tried not to facepalm. There was no way he was going to be able to deal with all this for three months.

-End Chapter

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><p>*Note to Yoko-chan- I checked out your DA~, if I tried to draw like that... man, I would fail so much! XD You're great at mangaanime characters, I would've posted a few comments, but I seem to have mysteriously lost my account. X'D

Everyone say hi to dark-yokokitsune, cause she says she's 'more than willing' to draw Fran in a maid's outfit when I get there~ Thx again Yoko-chan~

If you review, I'll write faster. It's a fact- Every time I read a review, I go, "Aww... I'm keeping people waiting, I don't want to do that!" And then I start writing again, no matter what important thing I was doing previously.  
>So, once again,<br>Hibari: REVIEW OR BE BITTEN TO DEATH!  
>Me: Ooh, it's been a while since we've threatened.<br>Hibari: I was pissed off at Mukuro and had to yell something.  
>Me: Aww~ Well, thanks, let's see if the readers are pissed off at him too.<br>Hibari: *nods*


	5. Chapter 5: Alla Hobos Are Put to Work

A Royal Wint- uh... Spring! Right.. this is Spring...  
>Chapter... five! I remembered!<p>

Bel: Awfully forgetful today, aren't you?  
>Me: No! *indigance*<br>Bel: I hope you don't forget what Fran and Squalo are gonna be doing~

Me: I won't, calm down.

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><p>"Yay, we're finally here," Fran sighed, trying to push the sleeping Bel off of him. When the prince had fallen back to sleep, he'd unconciously started leaning on Fran- more than the kouhai could support. Mammon, somewhere along the way, had moved over to the corner formed by the back of Tsuna's seat and the wall of the helicopter and gone to sleep there.<p>

"Let me out let me out let me out let me OUT!" screeched Lussuria, clawing at the helicopter window like a catnip-high feline on a scratching post.

"Calm down, scum," muttered Xanxus, stepping forward.

"Okay, Fran-san, you can go ahead and open the door," said Vongola X, also entering the area. Fran grinned.

"Hey, he trusts me over all of you," he chuckled, moving around the frantic Lussuria to pop open the door. Sadly for him, he got trampled when all of his teammates rushed to get out the door. Bel helped him up once everyone else had gotten out.

"Shishishi~ Froggy shouldn't brag," he giggled, brushing off his kouhai.

"Hey, be nice, I gave you my jacket," Fran mumbled, folding his arms. Vongola X exited last.

"Sorry about that, Fran-san," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"It's fine," sighed Fran, "it happens all the time."

"Ushishishishi~" giggled Bel, recalling a few other times it had happened. 'No matter where he is, Froggy always gets picked on by people who are bigger than him.' The prince grinned insanely. 'Looks like I'm no help.'

"Come on, stupid prince, we're walking," Fran said, tugging on the prince's arm.

"Shishishi~, alla hobos are walking~," Bel announced, starting to follow the group.

"Oh, snap out of it," Fran muttered. "Think of something else for a change."

Bel started giggling, officially lost in his own psychotic thoughts. Fran watched the prince's face as it stretched into the crazy cheshire grin and began to think. 'Why did I fall for him again?'

'Ne, Fran. You're pretty.'

Oh yeah.

* * *

><p>"Rokudo," growled Hibari, grabbing the back of Mukuro's shirt in one hand. Mukuro looked back at him and sighed.<p>

"What is it now, Kyo- mmf!"

The ex-prefect suddenly kissed the taller illusionist, and none too gently. Mukuro started to back up, but the Cloud's hold on him was strong. Finally, when the Mist was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, Hibari pulled back, panting slightly himself. Mukuro looked deep into his lover's eyes, his mismatched gaze startled and a bit confused.

"Talk to me," said Mukuro, "Why are you angry with me?"

Hibari looked up at him, an emotion shining there clearly, though Mukuro couldn't identify it.

"I missed you," he told the taller man seriously, "When you were in Vendicere, I'll I could think about was you. I could hardly sleep at night, because you weren't there with me. Now you're here, and you aren't paying any attention to me. I feel like your still... in Vendicere."

Mukuro sighed and embraced the Cloud. "I'm sorry, Kyouya, I didn't realize..."

"Start learning to pick up signals, you idiot," mumbled Hibari into the illusionist's shirt, hugging back instantly. He was jealous of Fran, always getting the care that he longed to recieve from Mukuro. While he knew that he'd previously made a mistake out of that jealousy, he couldn't help feeling that way when it had been over a year since Mukuro had really shown his love to him, and it hurt.

(A/N: Review if you like or dislike jealous Hibari! That'll tell me whether this can be a subplot~)

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><p>"Oh, Tsuna's back," said Reborn, getting up to head outside.<p>

"Wait- We're not done talking!" shouted Giannini, but Reborn had already left the room.

"Give it a rest," sighed Lal Mirch, "We need you here at the base."

"I can't give it a rest!" protested the mechanic, "You guys sent over that Black spell guy and not me!"

"You're too noisy," the failed Arcobaleno sighed, "Please, just let it go. We can trust Spanner."

Giannini continued to mumble under his breath, but at least he had quieted down.

* * *

><p>Reborn walked outside to see the Varia all yelling at Lussuria and a flustered Tsuna desperately trying to calm them. Amused, the Sun Arcobaleno watched for a few moments before he decided to help the poor Vongola out. He let Leon crawl onto his finger, and the chameleon instantly transformed into a gun.<p>

BANG!

"Sorry, Boss!" apologized Levi, bowing to Xanxus.

"That wasn't me, scum," Xanxus huffed, roundhouse kicking the Lightning out of annoyance.

"Ooh, nice move, boss," praised Fran, clapping. Bel joined in, and soon all the Varia except for Xanxus, Levi, and Lussuria were applauding their boss's move.

Tsunayoshi sighed and looked at Reborn. "Thank god your here!" he said, relieved.

"No, thank Giannini. He was talking my ear off about how we had Spanner go to rebuild the base instead of him, so I happened to be there when the moniter showed you landing. And I can see that Shoichi did a good job of teaching you how to control that thing."

"Reborn," sighed the Vongola, "I've grown up a LITTLE in the past to years, haven't I?"

"Yeah, a little," agreed the Arcobaleno, before calling out to the Varia. "Oi! I'm gonna show you all where your staying, 'kay?"

Everyone turned to him, and Squalo was about to shout about how happy he was to be off the helicopter, when Mammon yelled, "EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!" The Varia, startled by the Mist Arcobaleno's sudden fierocity, all began to hurry forward and into the base. Once they had all made it in, Mammon walked over to Reborn. "Tell the girls to take some time off. We're gonna do all the work until our base is built- longer if we don't have enough money to get back to assignments. Alright?"

"Sure," agreed Reborn. "Come on, Tsuna."

"No way...," mumbled the Vongola as he followed the others inside.

* * *

><p>"Fran~ Ah, it's so nice to see you!" said Mukuro, hugging his apprentice cheerfully. "How are you?"<p>

"Master, let me go, you're making people angry," Fran said, indicating first to Bel, then to Hibari. Mukuro reluctantly retreated from his embrace.

"I haven't seen you for a long time," he said quietly.

"I got you out of prison just a year ago, calm down," Fran said, turning back to Bel and taking the knives that the prince had taken out of his pocket. "Confiscated," he said, placing them in his own pocket. "No stabbing tropical fruit-headed illusionists."

Mukuro looked back to Kyoya and shrugged. "He's just my apprentice, Kyouya, calm down."

"Hn," Hibari grunted, looking away indifferently. Mukuro frowned slightly for just a moment before he looked back to Bel and Fran.

"Where are your teammates?" he asked, replacing the troubled look on his face with the usual creepy smile.

"Getting lectured by Monta," Bel giggled, folding his arms behind his head. "Since we already know that Froggy's gonna be cooking the whole time. In a maid outfit."

"Oya, oya, looks like no matter how hard you try, Fran, you'll always be the girl in your relationships with guys," Mukuro chuckled. Fran sighed with defeat and said,

"Well, at least I never grew my hair out long," he muttered. Mukuro visibly flinched as Bel and Hibari began to laugh at him.

"I was in Vendicere!" he protested, "It's not like they take you out of the tanks to cut your hair!"

"You've had a whole year to get it cut, though," Hibari pointed out. "And you ask why I think you're so feminine."

"Oh? Are we going to have this arguement again, Kyouya?" Mukuro asked, emitting a dark aura which Fran poked.

"Do we need to? The girliest guy I know (points at Fran) agrees with me."

"Hey!" protested Fran. "I know I look a little... girlish, but the girliest guy you know? Come on! What about that funeral wreath... uh... Daisy, that's right... That was a guy!"

"Daisy had problems," Hibari said, "and he doesn't count 'cause I bit him to death."

"Shishishi~ Oh, Fran, just learn to live with it, you're a cutie~," the prince said in his seductive voice, getting really close to Fran.

"Senpai, don't end words with 'ie', it's uncool," Fran sighed, stepping back, "And don't start with that now. We have work. You need to find a maid outfit, and I need to get to the kitchen."

"Oh yeah," Bel recalled, giving up suprisingly fast. "Have a bowl of strawberry ice-cream ready when I get there."

With that, the prince turned and began walking away, leaving Fran with Hibari and Mukuro. Fran turned back to the two, but walked past them when he saw that they were busy kissing each other. 'Those two, and their games of tonsil hockey,' thought Fran as he left. 'I wonder what it must be like for the people who live here.'

* * *

><p>When Fran walked into the kitchen, he was immediately met with the somewhat disturbing sight of Squalo, who was already 'in uniform'. "Aw, man, I didn't need to see that," he protested, shielding his eyes.<p>

"Voi, Fran, chill, you'll have to get used to it," Squalo told him, cutting a large fish with the sword that was attatched to his hand.

"You could just use a knife, you know," Fran said, coming a bit closer to watch. Squalo picked up the fish's head and shoved it in Fran's face.

"Does this LOOK like it can be handled with a knife?" he asked loudly. He grew confused when Fran just kind of stared at the fish, then got closer to whisper something. "Fran, what the hell are you doing," questioned Squalo in a monotone that made it sound like a statement.

"Uh huh. Okay, I'll tell him." Fran looked up at the Rain Guardian and said in his usual deadpan voice, "He doesn't like being chopped up."

"VOOOOOOIIIIIIIII! STOP FOOLING AROUND, BRAT, AND GET COOKING!" Squalo roared, pointing his sword at Fran. The Mist put his arms up in a surrendering gesture and walked over to the other side of the kitchen.

"It was a joke, long-haired commander, a joke," he said innocently, "Which you, apparently, don't like~"

"VOI! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, SO IF YOU DON'T GET MOVING, I'LL KILL YOU!"

"That would be a bad move, commander, 'cause then YOU'D have to be the one doing it all," Fran pointed out, maintaining his innocent act. When he saw Squalo getting ready to shout at him again, he said, "So what do you want me to do?"

"Ramen," the shark huffed, before turning back to the fish. "Add what you must; the refrigerator's right over there."

Fran nodded and hopped over to the refrigerator, then pulled out a few ingredients that he would need. "Ne, long-haired commander," he called as he went to get a pot from a cupboard.

"Hm?"

"Is the outfit comfortable at all?" Fran asked.

"You get used to it," the shark replied, glancing at the younger boy for just a second.

'Looks like I can get along with him since he's the more feminine lover in his own relationship,' Fran thought. Suddenly, he heard a sound from the door and started to turn towards it, but Squalo immediately told him not to.

"It's just Luss. He's upset about not being able to go into the kitchen, so he's been bugging me about how I prepare sushi for the past half-hour. Just ignore him.

"Oh. Okay," Fran agreed, turning back to the ramen, a slight grin on his face. 'Looks like, for once, I'm not gonna be the one getting tortured here.'

Over by the door, Lussuria hung his head with defeat. 'Fran-chan... how can you do this to me?'

"Oh, Lussuria! Hello, to the extreme," said Ryohei, suddenly appearing.

And therefore, Lussuria was able to forget about the kitchen.

-End Chapter

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><p>Hibari: Review before I kill Mukuro!<br>Me: That wouldn't be good for the plot, Hibari...


	6. Chapter 6: Alla Hobos See an Angry Frog

A Royal Spring Chapter Six

Woohoo! Chapter six!  
>You people are so inspirational! *hands everyone who reviewed a cookie*<br>Thx so much for reading and reviewing~ It's proven to me that I'm not as suckish at writing as my senpai and NeverMakeSense think~ While I was writing the last chapter I kept thinking about 'A Royal Meeting' Did anyone else feel the same?

* * *

><p>"Fran!" called Bel, walking into the kitchen.<p>

"Just a minute, senpai," Fran replied sharply, watching mutiple pots at once, having to get them all off the stove at the right times. After a cooking stunt that even Lussuria hadn't pulled off before, everything ended up in bowls. Fran gave a sigh of relief and sat down on the kitchen floor. "How many girls do the cooking?"

"Four," replied Lambo, who had been sitting at the table the whole time, a bored look on his face. "Me too, sometimes. Usually, it's Kyoko, Haru, Chrome and I-pin. I-pin sometimes delivers to us since she works as a delivery girl for the Rakurakuken ramen place."

"Well, that's better than two guys that aren't super experienced in the kitchen," Fran mumbled. "Why don't you help us?"

"Sorry, Fran, 'm on vacation," the Lightning said with a grin.

"Ugh..."

"Froggy! The prince is dissapointed in you! You're totally ignoring him!" Bel protested. Fran looked up.

"What is- Oh my god, NO," the kouhai said instantly upon seeing the outfit that Bel had brought for him.

"Sorry, Froggy, it's the only one they had," Bel said with a grin.

"Senpai, I'm not wearing something that barely goes a few inches below my waist- that's ridiculous!" Fran protested. "Remember me? I'm a guy!"

"Bel, there's more than that, I remember 'cause I went to Haru with Xanxus," Squalo told him.

"Shhhh!" Bel protested, his index finger over his lips, though the undying cheshire grinned confirmed that what Squalo was right.

"Senpai!" said Fran, "What did I say about treating me right?"

"Oh, sorry Froggy, the prince forgot about that," Bel muttered.

"If you want to stay the 'manlier' guy I suggest you go get something reasonable," Fran hissed.

"Ooh, Froggy knows how to manipulate the prince," Bel teased, though he did walk out of the area. Fran turned to Squalo quickly.

"I need to go with him- I don't trust him at all. Would you do the serving?"

"Sure," Squalo agreed. "Go get something decent."

"Thank you so much!" Fran said gratefully, before running off in pursuit of the prince. It didn't take long to catch up to the blonde, and he slowed to walk next to Bel once he'd gotten there.

"Don't trust the prince?" Bel asked.

"As it turns out, I don't trust you picking out clothes for me, OR in a car."

"Tch. You should be able to trust to trust the prince in a car by now," Bel pouted, though he moved an arm around Fran's shoulders and gently kissed the kouhai's head. "Difficult uke."

"Senpai, really, get over that," Fran protested, pushing the prince back again.

"Shishishi~ It's been so long since Froggy's blushed like that!" Bel said triumphantly, spinning in circles with joy. Fran rolled his eyes and touched his cheek softly.

'I still can't be totally comfortable with being called that... why? We've been together for more than a couple of years now.'

"Froggyyy, you're spacing~," Bel hummed, poking Fran's blush. Fran batted him away and said indigantly,

"Let me have my moment sometime, would you?"

"Shishishi~," Bel giggled, finally leaving the younger illusionist alone. Fran continued to leave his hand over his dark red cheek, feeling strange.

'I really haven't blushed around him that much lately...'

'Hey, Fran!'

The illusionist tripped on a flat ground and had to be picked up by a laughing Belphegor.

'Master? What are you doing? Get out of my head!' Fran protested, murmuring thanks to Bel, who was still laughing about the kouhai's Dino-Cavallone-worthy clumsiness.

'I just wanted to talk~ Isn't that okay?'

'Master, I'm with Bel-senpai, no talking!'

'Not even for a moment?'

Fran sighed. 'Is Hibari there?'

'We're on a couch. He fell asleep on me while watching a movie so, yeah, he's here.'

'Master, we shouldn't talk behind his- or senpai's back, for that matter. Out of my head.'

Fran cut the connection, somewhat concerned. 'What's he trying to do?'

"Froggy? You okay? You look funny, and not the normal kind," Bel said, apparently worried about his kouhai.

"Ah... It's nothing," Fran told him, shaking his head and leaning against the prince to assure him. 'Nothing at all...'

Bel knew Fran wasn't telling him everything, but let it go. He trusted Fran to tell him if something was truly wrong.

* * *

><p>Mukuro sighed at the broken conection and shifted slightly on the couch, leaning backwards. 'Kyouya's so heavy,' he inwardly protested, though he reached a hand up to stroke his lover's hair. 'And what's wrong with getting bored and wanting to talk to someone?'<p>

"R...ku...du...," Hibari murmured in his sleep, a troubled expression on his sleeping face. Mukuro caressed the other's cheek and sighed once more.

"I'm right here, Kyouya," he whispered, closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>"Aw~ You look so cute!" said Kyoko as the frustrated Squalo set the ramen bowls and trays of sushi on the table.<p>

"Well thanks," Squalo said gruffly, looking at Xanxus, who had an unusual smirk on his face. When Kyoko realized that the cute new girl was a guy, she quieted instantly from the awkwardness of seeing a fully grown man in a maid's outfit.

"Itadekimasu~!" (A/N: Let me know if I misspelled that...)

Everyone began eating, and Squalo tiredly sat down beside Xanxus. "Fran ran off with Bel to get a decent outfit," he informed the boss, "because that stupid prince wanted him to wear a uniform that barely went past his hips."

"It's normal behavior for that child," huffed Xanxus.

"Sure is," agreed the shark.

"You made the sushi?" the Sky questioned. Squalo nodded. "It's good for a piece of trash," Xanxus teased, making the Rain grow further agitated. Suddenly, Mukuro walked into the room, and, to everyone's suprise, he was alone.

"Voi, scum, where's the Japanese kid?" asked Squalo. Mukuro frowned for a moment, but quickly hid it.

"Kyouya, you mean? He's asleep in the living room, I didn't want to wake him."

Everyone kind of brushed it off, even though something was suspiscious. Just that morning, Mukuro had come in with the Cloud, and Hibari had been complaining about not getting enough sleep. The two had been very intimate, just as they'd been for a couple years now. Mukuro was usually the one who dragged his lover to the kitchen to eat when he was tired.

* * *

><p>"Nng... Roku...do...," breathed Hibari, clutching a pillow tightly, before his gray eyes slowly opened. He sat up. 'Where...?' He looked about him, and frowned. 'Where is he?' The ex-prefect stood and looked around more, feeling alone and disappointed. 'Did he go to dinner... without me?'<p>

* * *

><p>Fran shuffled uncomfortably in the outfit he'd gotten, and glanced up at Bel. "I don't like this, senpai."<p>

"We had a deal, Froggy," the prince returned, patting Fran on the frog-hat.

"Did we?" Fran asked, not recalling such a moment. He let it go, however, satisfied that he at least wasn't in something that showed much leg. It was still a bit frilly for his liking, though. When the two came up to the door, they saw Hibari peering inside, a frustrated look on his face.

"Skylark-san?" Fran addressed quietly as they stepped up. Hibari closed the door when he saw them, and looked to Fran.

"Hello...," he murmured.

"What's wrong?" asked Fran, able to recognize the look of sadness that the taller man had tried so hard to mask. Hibari shook his head.

"Rokudo," he mumbled.

"Aw, man, what did that insensitive pineapple do this time?" Fran asked, coming over to the door and opening it a crack. He shut it after observing the area. "He ditched you on the couch?"

Hibari nodded, before he stood up straight. "I'm fine... I'll just head to our room... and beat him up over it when he gets back." With that, the skylark walked away, looking upset still.

"Poor guy," Fran sighed, shaking his head. "I'll have to talk to Master about this..."

"Uh, if you don't mind the prince asking... Why do you know they were on a couch?" Bel asked, looking unsure he should ask.

"Telepathy...," Fran sighed, "That's what it was about earlier."

"Oh...," Bel managed. "Well... let's go in, shall we?"

"Yeah."

The couple walked into the kitchen at the same time, and Bel took a seat in an empty chair by Xanxus, leaving the one beside Mukuro for Fran. The kouhai sighed and took his seat, and instantly go recognized by Mukuro.

"A~aw, Fran, you look cute in that~," the illusionist said, "your prince charming forced you into that?"

"Yeah...," Fran said, before giving Mukuro an odd look. "Master, why do you seem so happy?"

"I don't have any reason not to be happy, do I?" Mukuro asked, smiling creepily.

"Master...," Fran whispered, before suddenly standing, grabbing Mukuro's arm and taking the older Mist with him outside of the kitchen. Once they were out, Fran asked him, a bit loudly, "Why did you leave Hibari alone?"

"Hm? Kyouya? What do you me-"

"You know what I mean, Master!" Fran practically shouted, "Hibari thinks you're cheating on him because you're paying too much attention to me. I'm not comfortable with it, I've got Bel. And what you're doing isn't fair to either Hibari or myself."

"Fran, I'm just-"

"No, stop that, I don't want to hear it," Fran said firmly. "You go, and talk to Hibari before Bel and I make you go!"

With that, the Mist stepped back into the kitchen, leaving a confused and slightly hurt Mukuro behind him. He walked over to Belphegor and sat down next to him, sighing heavily. The prince started giggling softly, and, after a while it got a bit annoying, so Fran looked up at him. "What," he asked a bit sharply.

"Froggy, everyone heard you. You sound like an angry ex-girlfriend who's ex is coming after her again."

"Tch. I know how I sounded, I was pissed off at him," Fran muttered, "And if you ever do that to me with Mammon, I'll bite you to death."

Everyone at the table laughed, except for Mammon, who was too absorbed in counting the small amount of money they had earned that day, a greedy look on his face.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>We~ell, sorry October9, I have to include some romantic problems in every story, because fangirls will rage if I don't.*gives cookie*<p>

So, Everyone's okay with this more 1869-ish sideplot, right? Right? RIGHT? Yes, no, maybe so? REVIEW SO I KNOW FOR SURE!  
>Hibari: Review... or be bitten to death...<br>Me: *pets head* It'll work out.  
>Mukuro: Hey, I'm not disloyal!<br>Me: Well, for today, you are.  
>Mukuro: *raging*<br>Hibari: *hugs Mukuro cutely* Review for more 1869!


	7. Chapter 7: Alla Hobos Have Problems

A Royal Spring Chapter Spring

Okay!  
>Bel: *clears throat*<br>Me: Hm? Oh gosh. Chapter SEVEN, sorry~!  
>Bel: Nice.<br>Me: *blush* Well gosh! *hands KokoroSawada a cookie* First review for that chapter! Oh, and- *hands CrazyYaoiLover101 a cookie* you're nice~ Bel: Stop feeding your reviewers cookies and write, otaku.  
>Me: Bel, you're getting spoiled by all these updates! I should update less!<br>Alla Hobos: NO!  
>Me: O.O Strong reaction...<p>

* * *

><p>"Kyouya?" Mukuro called uncertainly, stepping into his room. The ex-prefect was reading a book, sitting on the edge of the bed, and didn't look up when the illusionist came in. "Kyouya, look at me." Still no response. Mukuro walked over to the bed and sat down beside the Cloud, before pulling him into an embrace. "I'm sorry, alright?" the Mist said, resting his head on the other's shoulder. Hibari hesitantly put his book down and turned to hug Mukuro back.<p>

"Stop. Just stop," he muttered, "It's not fair."

Mukuro bit back his temptation to snap that life isn't fair and instead said, "Fran said the same thing."

Suddenly, Hibari pushed the illusionist back, hands on his shoulders, and looked deep into his mismatched eyes. "Don't talk about him," he ordered the illusionist.

"Why no-"

The illusionist was cut off when Hibari abruptly kissed him, his nails digging harshly into the Mist's shoulders. When he pulled back, the Cloud said in a warning voice, "I don't want you looking at anyone but me." Mukuro let out the breath he'd been holding in and blinked slowly, at a loss for words. After a moment, Hibari released him and sat back. "Mukuro... let's fight."

"Hm?"

"Like we used to. Just a nice, long fight. It'll calm us both down."

Mukuro hesitantly nodded and walked to the side of the room to pick up his trident. "Seriously?"

"Seriously, no holding back," confirmed Hibari.

And the couple exited their room to go to the training room, where they used to battle each other frequently.

* * *

><p>"Senpai, no, I have to stay here and clean up," Fran told the prince when he suggested going on a killing spree.<p>

"Aw, but Froggy~, the prince is in the killing mood today!" Bel whined, tugging on the younger man's sleeve in protest.

"No, you're always in a killing mood, and if I'm doing the laundry, I would prefer not to be handed blood-soaked clothes. And you're still wearing my jacket, so you can't go on your own."

"I could take the jacket off," Bel suggested, grinning.

"And kill people shirtless?" Fran asked, "Don't even think about it!"

'That would be kind of hot though,' Fran mentally countered.

"Aww... Froggy's no fun today," Bel protested. "Can the prince at least get a good kiss tonight before we go to sleep?"

"That would be fine, but I'm not going further than that tonight," Fran agreed, "'Cause I'm so tired, I could fall asleep while watching angry Xanxus kill people."

"Hey, don't bring Xanxus into this," Squalo complained, pushing Bel away from the table so he could clean it. "And by the way, did anyone tell you two what the others are doing?"

"No," Bel and Fran answered simultaneously.

While handing Fran a mop, the shark told them, "Lussuria's got to clean bathrooms." Both prince and frog laughed for a long time, imagining the look of utter horror on the Sun's face when he was told that. "Levi's got any and everything electrical to take care of. Xanxus doesn't have to work, the lazy jerk."

"You made a rhyme!" cheered Fran, starting to mop. "And by the way, why don't they have any of those fancy cleaning things that have the wierd pad-like things on the bottom?"

"I don't know," Squalo replied, "but if you're wearing a maid outfit, it's best to look old fashioned, right?"

Neither of them got what Squalo meant, but both agreed. (A/N: I don't know really what he meant either, so don't ask me.)

* * *

><p>Lussuria dragged his feet as he walked, carrying a bunch of cleaning supplies behind him. 'How could they do this to me?' he wondered sadly, 'it's enough that they keep me out of the kitchen, but cleaning bathrooms is NOT my thing!'<p>

Suddenly, he heard a loud sound that sounded like an explosion coming from a room he'd just walked up to. 'Please don't be a bathroom,' he inwardly pleaded as he opened the door. However, he was shocked to see two people that he sure were lovers, seemingly in a battle to the death.

* * *

><p>"Ah, finally, it's all done," Fran sighed.<p>

"Yeah," Squalo agreed. "Good work, brat."

"Stop calling me that, I'm twenty four now," Fran snapped. The shark sighed and mumbled,

"And yet you never left the rebellious teenager phase."

"Hey!"

Bel giggled, standing by the door, and called into the kitchen, "Froggy~, the prince is waiting!"

"Okay, senpai," Fran answered, walking back towards the door. "Later, long-haired commander."

"Later, brat."

Fran joined Bel by the door and the two headed out to return to their room which, convieniently, was still numbered 'B26'.

The two headed into the room, and Bel walked over to the small bed first, yawning widely. Fran joined him and leaned back. "Can I get dressed in my normal clothes now?"

"Yeah, be quick," replied the prince. The kouhai took of his hat and set it on the ground before walking over to a closet that already had some clothes in it. When Fran got back to the bed, he was dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and long black pants, simple enough to sleep in. Bel reached over to the younger Mist and put a hand on his cheek, tilting his head towards the prince. "Kiss?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're so impatient," sighed Fran, before leaning into the prince. For the first time in the past few days, Bel was allowed entrance to Fran's mouth, something the Storm greatly enjoyed. He wrapped an arm around Fran's back and pulled his kouhai closer still, exploring the Mist's mouth hungrily. Fran wrapped his arms around the prince's neck, not wanting to break from that warmth.

The two parted hesitantly, Bel breathing out a sigh that sounded like he'd just fallen on the floor. "The prince hates having to hold back," he muttered, crawling all the way onto the bed and lying down with a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"Sorry, senpai, can't help you there," Fran told him, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over the two of them. He rested his head against the prince's said and murmured, "Good night, senpai."

"Night, Fran."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, it's American... and it rhymes."

"...?"

* * *

><p>Morning...<p>

"Can we stop yet?" panted Mukuro, holding his cheek, which was bleeding from a deep cut.

"Why?" asked Hibari, standing up straight. "I'm enjoying myself."

"Kyouya," the illusionist sighed, "I'm tired, okay? If we're lovers, we shouldn't fight."

"Who said that?"

"I said that! Even Fran and Bel don't- Ah! Kyouya!"

The ex-prefect had suddenly rushed at him and hit against his trident hard with a tonfa, causing the illusionist to stumble backwards and fall over. Hibari knelt down beside him. "I told you not to talk about him," he hissed, pressing the other tonfa to Mukuro's throat.

"Kyouya- Don't...," said Mukuro, trying to push the metallic weapon away from him.

"Promise me...," whispered Hibari. Mukuro looked at him.

"Promise you what, Kyouya?"

"Promise me you still love me."

Mukuro looked at the Cloud uncertainly, before saying in a voice that he hoped didn't sound reluctant, "I still love you, Kyouya."

Hibari wanted to believe it, too. He sat back and watched the illusionist sit up. "Mukuro...," he whispered. Their gazes met, and Mukuro pushed himself forward, meeting his lips to the Cloud's with a only slightly faltering love.

* * *

><p>"VOI! BRAT, YOU'RE LATE!" shouted Squalo when Fran walked in, flailing his sword. "SINCE NORMAL PEOPLE JUST DON'T HAVE SUSHI FOR BREAKFAST, I'VE BEEN TRYING ALL SORTS OF RANDOM WAYS TO-"<p>

"Calm down, long-haired commander, you're getting in the way of true love," Fran managed to say with a straight face, jabbing his thumb at the prince who was waiting somewhat patiently by the door.

Squalo clenched his fists, resisting the urge to strangle the Mist right then and there, and instead yelled, "GET TO WORK, BRAT!"

"You ain't my boss," Fran said defiantly, "And why don't you simply fry the fish? I'm pretty sure that's a kind of dish. Ah, I rhymed." Fran stepped up to the stove, taking a frying pan and setting it on the stove, not yet turning on the fire. He took a fish and used a knife to cut off the scales. "Like this, right?"

"Uh, yeah," agreed Squalo, watching the younger man work. Once the fish was skinned- uh, scaled, Fran placed it into the frying pan and turned on the fire. "Just watch it, you should know when it's done," Fran said brightly, reaching up to pat the shark on the head. "Oh, long-haired commander, you seem taller."

"Froggy," said Bel in a warning voice.

"Sorry, senpai, apologized Fran, backing away from the shark and going to the refrigerator. "Now what do we have in here..."

"Hm," grunted Squalo, the faintest blush tinting his cheeks, "It feels awkward having a man in a maid outfit touching me," he growled to Fran, watching the frying pan.

"Feels wierd to touch you anyway," Fran muttered, sprinkling a decent amout of pepper on the fish. "And make sure you experiment with this, it works for Lussuria."

"Sure, sure," Squalo agreed. "Get to your own food."

"Not very grateful, are you?" Fran said with a grin, though he moved to get some eggs out of the refrigerator.

"Thanks," muttered the shark. "Brat."

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Sorry it was slightly later than the usual. Hm? I'm almsost halfway through already! Kore wa sugoi, desu ne? Anyways, accidental slight S26, sorry~ But it won't last or join my plot. I'M NOT GONNA DO ANOTHER LOVE STAR LIKE A ROYAL MEETING!<p>

Please review.

I am STILL seeing twenty-sixes Yesterday, the steak I wanted costed 26 dollars. I keep seeing 26 on the clock. I looked at how far I was into a song when had played for 3 minutes and 26 seconds.


	8. Chapter 8: Alla Hobos Eat Lunch

A Royal Spring Chapter Eight

Is everyone getting worried about the 1869?  
>Bel: Honestly, the prince could care less.<br>Me: You really should start using first person.  
>Bel: No.<br>Me: Huh.

* * *

><p>Noon...<p>

Everyone was relieved when both Mukuro and Hibari entered the kitchen at lunch, and Mukuro didn't make any comments about Fran. The two 'maids' set lunch on the table and sat down as well, both looking exhausted.

Lussuria came into the kitchen a few minutes after everyone had already started eating, but Xanxus glared at him, causing the Sun to stop in his tracks. "What did I say about you coming into kitchens, scum?"

"B-but-"

"Just take a plate of something and eat outside, alright?"

"... Okay bossu...," pouted Lussuria, walking over the table and shyly taking a few items, placing them on a plate and leaving the room.

"DON'T MAKE A MESS FOR US, LUSSURIA!" shouted Squalo while the Sun was leaving. Fran sighed.

"So you're not even going to let him eat in a kitchen?" he asked the boss.

"No one wants him here anyway," Xanxus shrugged, before getting back to his meal. Fran looked up at Bel.

"Does Master seem a bit... quiet to you?" he whispered.

"He smells like blood," Bel whispered back. "I think he and Hibari got into a fight."

"A fight?" murmured the kouhai, glancing at Mukuro. "But he looks perfectly fine."

"Didn't he tell you one time that he always covers his wounds so no one worries about him? You obviously haven't looked at Hibari very well. Check out his arm."

Fran did as his lover told him to, and was suprised to see a bandage around the Cloud's arm, just above his elbow. Fran gazed back up at Bel. "I never thought you'd be one to notice details," he commented, blinking slowly.

"When I smell blood, Froggy, I snap to attention," Bel said with a grin, "'Cause blood is the most important thing in my life~"

"When did you start with the first person?" Fran asked, before suddenly realizing what the prince had said. "Hey!"

"What?" the prince asked, before taking a ridiculously large bite of a sandwich that caused his cheeks to puff out.

"BLOOD is more important than ME?" the kouhai asked, puppy-eyeing the prince.

"Aww~, sorry, Froggy," apologized Bel, "I meant second most important."

"Thanks, senpai."

"Your cooking is more important than blood, after all."

"Hey!"

"Mukuro," murmured Hibari, not looking up at the illusionist.

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'm the most important thing in your life?" he asked quietly. Mukuro looked over at the ex-prefect, trying hard to not think about anything else that would be more important, and replied,

"Of course, Kyouya."

Hibari's gaze swerved to lock with Mukuro's. "Really?" he asked in what was really a cute voice, but Mukuro took it as his skylark not trusting him.

"Yeah, Kyouya, why would I lie to you?" he almost snapped. Hibari looked back to his food.

"I have no idea," he whispered.

Fran had witnessed the scene, and he frowned. 'Are they growing apart?' he thought sadly, 'Man, I thought they looked great together, but is their relationship not going to last?'

"Fro~oggy, stop zoning out randomly," Bel complained, prodding Fran's cheek playfully. "Froggy~? The prince may have to stab if you don't snap out of it."

Fran shook his head and looked back at the prince. "Don't stab." Bel shi'd and patted his kouhai on the hat.

"Good Froggy."'

"I'm not a pet, senpai," Fran mumbled, batting the prince away, a very light blush on his cheeks.

"You're close," Bel snickered. Fran glared at him, before going back to his meal out of defeat.

"Stupid senpai," he muttered.

"Don't be un-cute, Froggy, the prince needs a CUTE kouhai."

"Sorry, senpai."

* * *

><p>"Huu... I wanted to tell Fran-chan what I saw yesterday," sighed Lussuria, taking a large bite out of a rice ball. "Hey, this is pretty good..."<p>

"Lussuria? What are you extremely doing on the extreme floor?" asked Ryohei, walking over, apparently just getting back from boxing training.

"Bossu kicked me out of the kitchen," replied mister-sunshine, "it's alright, though." Ryohei grinned.'

"Want me to eat out here with you, extremely?" Ryohei suggested. Lussuria brightened up instantly like the Sun he was.  
>"Sure! Thanks, Ryo-chan!"<p>

* * *

><p>Everyone watched, awkwardly silent, when Ryohei came in, took some food and left just like that. "What's with him?" Bel asked with a grin once the boxer had left, a crazy grin on his face.<p>

"Turf top is probably gonna eat with that freaky Sun guardian of yours," said the Storm guardian of the Vongola.

"Oh, he finally said something," Fran said, "You've been so quiet this whole time. I suppose now's a good time to ask... What's up with your hair?"

The awkward stare turned to Fran for a few minutes before the Storm guardian shouted at him, "What the hell, guy? You put up with that freaky knife bastard, Mukuro Rokudo, that freaky Sun guardian, and that guy (*points at Squalo*)! What do you mean, what's with MY hair?"

Fran defensively put his hands up, "Okay, okay, calm down, mister, I live with the 'freaky knife bastard', 'freaky Sun guardian', and 'that guy', and I had to live with Master for a long time too, but I insist that you have the wierdest hairstyle. Reminds me of an octopus."

Bel high-fived Fran at the end of the sentence randomly, causing a few people to hold back chuckles of laughter.

"Hey, don't pick on Gokudera. You're the maid here," said the Vongola boss, walking into the room.

"J-juudaime!" said a relieved Storm guardian, "You're here!"

"Yes, I managed to make it to lunch. How is it?"

"Ahaha," laughed Yamamoto, the Rain guardian, "Squalo and the little guy did pretty good."

"Hey! Who're you calling little guy!" protested Fran, folding his arms.

"You baseball idiot, the boss was asking me!" yelled Gokudera.

"Wow, I'd like to see a scream-off between long-haired commander and this guy. It would be epic. Talk of the century," Fran deadpanned, his teal eyes glinting with amusement. "And isn't it funny that the loudest characters seem to end up being the second-in-commands?"

"Lambo over there was probably the loudest ten years ago though," the boss joked, glancing at his currently sixteen-year-old Lighting guardian.

"Yeah, he would've been like... five ten years ago," agreed Yamamoto.

"Six! Do your math, baseball idiot!"

"Ahaha..."

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

"Aw man!" protested Fran when the lights suddenly went out.

"Shishi~, power outage?" asked Bel.

"Probably," groaned Fran, "Doesn't help we're underground. Let's go see if everyone else is out."

"Sure~"

The two walked around the halls, feeling along them, until Bel said, "Stop, Froggy. Do you hear that?"

A crackling noise up ahead alerted them to a Lighning Guardian.

"Uh-oh, that better not be Levi. There's NO WAY Lightning is gonna strike him underground."

"That's old-fashioned, Froggy, he's probably just using Lightning flames," Bel pointed out.

"To charge the WHOLE base?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice rang out before them. "Thunder set!" The crackling sound increased significantly. "Electtrico Cornata!"

"Woah!" Fran and Bel jumped back when a huge, green, electrical charge sparked just ahead, and the power instantly came back on. Once they could see, the two ran to see what had happened. They saw both Lightning Guardians at the scene, though Levi was just standing around pointlessly.

"Levi, did you help at all?" Bel groaned.

"This kid said that he'd take care of it, and he did," muttered the Lightning.

"I wasn't happy with the darkness," mumbled Lambo, looking a bit embarassed, "So I rammed the electricity generator."

"Well, at least it worked, and you didn't break anything," Fran said, "Come on, senpai, let's go back to our room, we should get some rest anyway..."

"Okay, Froggy...," sighed the prince.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Feel free to protest about the shortness, spring break is over, and I hardly did any schoolwork over spring break, so now I gots an essay to do, and Hibari's birthday is coming up this week, May 5th, gotta write him a fanfic, and I took on another chapter story that I'm doing with a friend, and I've also got this series and 'The Prince and His Pet.'<br>So sorry for the late uploads, I'm busy.

REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO UPLOAD MORE OFTEN!


	9. Chapter 9: Alla Hobos Are Funny?

A Royal Spring Chapter Nine

Hey everyone! I made a b-day fic for Kyouya, and it's Mukuro-Hibari, so please re-  
>Fran: Hey, this is your 'A Royal-' series. The story you invest the most time and effort in. Honestly, if you've got people reviewing your most prized fanfiction, you shouldn't go around asking them to do more.<br>Me: Hey, self-advertising is a bad habit for me!  
>Fran: Like you weren't aware of it.<br>Me: Alright, quiet, Froggy.  
>Fran: ...!<br>Me: Yeah, so I'm like... abusing my headphones and laptop by turning the volume up and forcing them to play alla Reborn character songs on full blast. Oh, and I sing along with 'Hitoribocchi no Sadame'. Love that one.  
>Fran: Weren't you JUST complaining about Hibari's voice being too deep for you?<br>Me: No! I love his voice! I meant, I can't sing in that exact octave. I like it, (of course!) the deep but-not-Kusakabe-level voice is actually rather hot if you ask me.  
>Fran: Omigod, start writing the story, your author notes are huge today!<br>Me: They aren't that bad! Sheesh.

* * *

><p>10:00 PM<p>

"Hibari... uh... how do I put this...," Tsuna murmured, biting his lip as he looked up at his Cloud, "You have an assignment..."

"How long?" Hibari asked, taking the information file that was pushed slowly towards him.

"Two weeks... and... well...," the Vongola trailed off, looking away.

"And what, herbivore?" Hibari asked, starting to look angry at the boss for stuttering.

"You... you can't take Mukuro with you," he whispered. "Mukuro has to stay here because he'd hinder you on the assassination."

Hibari looked down and thought for a moment.

'As much as I'll miss him, I already know for a fact that he... won't miss me nearly as much.'

Hibari felt tears about to well up in his eyes, so he shook his head and looked back up instantly.

"It's alright. I'll leave tomorrow morning then?"

"Y-yes, the earlier, the better," Tsunayoshi told him, looking a bit confused that the ex-prefect was 'okay' with the situation.

Hibari walked back into his room and sat down on the side of the bed, looking down at Mukuro, who was already fast asleep. "I love you...," he murmured, bending down to kiss the illusionist on the cheek. He was disappointed to find himself getting no response, and let the tears collect in his eyes. For this one time, he couldn't help it. He wiped at his eyes in frustration. He'd been in love with the illusionist for so long, and he had been able to have him all to himself for only a couple months now, without him being in prison. Even so, it seemed as though Mukuro was slowly losing intrest in him.

No longer loving him.

'Did he ever... really love me?' Hibari wondered, starting to softly stroke the illusionist's hair, a frown on his face as another tear rolled down his cheek.

The illusionist turned slightly in his sleep, away from the ex-prefect, groaning softly with protest. Hibari slid himself carefully under the sheets beside Mukuro and breathed against his ear in a slightly broken voice, "I really do love you." And he fell asleep, snuggled against the comfortable warmth of his lover.

* * *

><p>Morning...<p>

Fran yawned widely, rubbing his eyes and stretching, when he suddenly realized Bel wasn't in the bed with him. He sat up and looked around, then peeked over the edge of the bed. "Did you fall on the floor again, senpai?" he asked, looking around.

"Shishishi~, nah, just got up early," said a voice from behind him. He knew that Bel was walking over to him, but pretended not to notice when his eyes were suddenly covered by soft hands that were decorated with three rings each. "Guess who~"

"Hm... I'm not entirely sure, but I think you might just be Bel-senpai," Fran 'guessed', smiling.

"Shishi~! Froggy guessed right, so Froggy gets a kiss~," Bel announced, turning Fran around and kissing him not for very long, but not so quickly that Fran couldn't savor it.

"So have you already showered then?" Fran asked, his arms finding themeselves around Bel's upper body in a loose hug.

Bel shook his head, a mischievous look on his face. "Wouldn't do that without Froggy~," he giggled.

"Okay, apparently I've spoiled you," Fran muttered, rolling his eyes. "Too much service to senpai, ne? I should really have better self-confidence and say 'no' to you some time."

"Shishishi~," Bel laughed, blushing lightly, though it may have just been Fran's imagination.

"Ne, senpai," Fran said, looking up at the prince with those deep, teal eyes.

"Yes, Froggy?"

"Do I HAVE to wear the outfit today?" Fran asked, trying his best to look cute and pleading.

"Shishishi~, save that look for bed," Bel laughed. Fran's face changed from cute to suprise to disappointment in less than a second.

"Senpai," he whined, "Don't be a pervert in the morning, I don't like it."

"Sorry, Froggy, can't help it some days. Shishishi~ Now get dressed so you can make breakfast."

"But seeenpaaaaiiii," Fran droned, the pleading look back on his face.

"But senpai, what?" Bel teased. Fran glared at him for a moment, before walking over to the nightstand, where Bel had folded the maid outfit. "Shishishi...," Bel chuckled as the kouhai began to change.

"Senpai, stop staring at me while I'm changing clothes and get dressed," Fran protested, glancing at the prince over his shoulder. Bel was sitting cross-legged on the bed, watching him intently.

"Shishi~, if you had torn your eyes off of the prince's own eyes for even a moment, Froggy, you would've seen that he was already dressed. Fran frowned, partly because that meant he would have to suffer the stare for a while longer, and partly because Bel was still in his jacket.

"We're gonna go to Haru today and get you a change of clothes," Fran said, "Right after long-haired commander and I are done with cleaning up breakfast, okay?"

"No," Bel refused, hugging himself, "Froggy's jacket is cool."

Fran rolled his eyes and got the last part of his outfit on, before sighing and brushing it off for no real reason. "Senpai, really, you can't wear my jacket every day."

"But Froggy, you wear the same thing every day," Bel pointed out.

"That's because you force me to," Fran replied curtly, before walking over to the bed and leaning in to kiss the prince. He made it as similar to the previous one as he could, though he still left Bel craving more. He smirked at the look of disappointment when he backed away from the prince and began to head out the door.

"Don't go through the teasing phase again, Froggy," he warned, "Cause the prince is much more dominent, and should be the one teasing."

"Tch, narcissist prince," Fran muttered, before he opened the door and stepped out. "Come on, senpai," he ordered.

"Prince doesn't have to do what you say," Bel protested, folding his arms behind his head.

"Your name isn't prince," Fran said, leaving, but letting the door remain open.

"EXTREME BEFORE-BREAKFAST TRAINI-"

CRASH.

Fran looked behind him, a 'what the hell just happened' look on his face, and saw that some guy had gone and run into the door. "Aw man, senpai, I killed someone," the Mist complained, folding his arms.

"Ushishi~! Really?" Bel asked, getting up and moving to step out of the door.

"THIS MUST BE AN OBSTACLE! I CAN PASS THROUGH THIS WITH EASE!" screamed the man, apparently not affected by running into a door that was enforced with metals.

PUNCH.

Just as Bel poked his head out of the room, the door was hit roughly, causing it to slam shut onto his face. Fran facepalmed as the man began running again, shouting 'EXTREME' in a ridiculously loud voice.

"Senpai, are you okay?" he asked, reopening the door. Bel had his wrist over a bloody nose, and he looked very upset, but not neccessarily harmed. Fran had a small, false 'aww' moment and kneeled down by his senpai, patting his shoulder. "You okay?" he repeated.

"The prince is bleeding," Bel protested, "Of course it's not okay." Fran saw the corner of the prince's eye twitching with annoyance and cocked his head to the side.

"Senpai, it's just a bloody nose," Fran pointed out.

"..." He recieved no response, just a small, blood-red glare.

"Senpai," Fran insisted, starting to get a bit concerned.

"Get a rag or something to help me clean it up... I don't want to see it," Bel whispered, "You don't want me to see it."

Fran was confused, but shrugged it off. "Alright, just keep your eyes closed then," he suggested, "I'll be right back."

Bel watched Fran leave, and shuddered, feeling more of the warm liquid seep out onto his wrist.

'Don't think about it,' he told himself, 'just pretend it's not there...'

He gave another tremble, shutting his eyes tightly, 'there's nothing there... there's nothing there...' Thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump...  
>'Think about Froggy... that will help...'<p>

With his open hand, the prince found a knife that he'd hidden in his jacket, and gripped it tightly. 'Froggy... hurry... I need you back as soon as possible...'

'Before Rasiel finds me.'

"U-ushishishishi..."

* * *

><p>Fran ran into the kitchen and up to Squalo, no longer disturbed by the sight of his superior in uniform. "Long-haired commander, I'm in need of a rag, 'cause senpai got a nosebleed and he's acting wierd."<p>

"Nosebleed?" repeated the shark, "What did you do?"

"Huh?" Fran asked, not getting it at first, but the meaning of the question quickly sunk in, "Hey! I didn't do anything! This extremely crazy guy punched the door to the room closed when senpai was walking out, and it slammed into him."

Squalo arched a brow, confused, before he said, "Okay, whatever, you know where the rags are anyway."

"Right...," Fran breathed, going into a cupboard and grabbing a cloth before starting to run out.

"Hey, you better hurry back here when your done!" Squalo protested.

"I know."

Squalo sighed and looked back to the giant fish he was working with. He looked at the sword attatched to his fake hand, and shrugged before slamming the sword at the fish's neck. He groaned when half of what he was cutting through ended up on his face and grabbed a napkin.

'Looks like it's about time to sharpen this sword,' he told himself.

* * *

><p>Fran hurried back into the room and saw that Bel was closing his eyes very tightly, like he was afraid of them opening. "Okay, senpai, I'm going to get you cleaned up," he told the prince, "Just stay still."<p>

Fran took Bel's bloodied wrist and cleaned off most of the blood, maintaining his curse when some of it was revealed to have already dried onto Bel's skin. Fran helped clean up as much of it as he could, then wondered to do with the rest of the dried blood. He bit his lip, figuring that water would be the easiest way to clean it. Before he knew it, he found himself coming in to lick the blood off himself, but he stopped the second he knew what he was doing, and backed up, blushing.

'Like hell I'm gonna do that,' he told hismelf.

"Senpai, keep your eyes closed unless you can stand dried blood." Bel vigorously shook his head at the kouhai, who gave a slight sigh, and Fran helped the prince stand up. "Come on, we'll go to the kitchen and clean the rest of it."

"O-okay...," Bel mumbled, when Fran suddenly saw the knife in his hand.

"Senpai, give me the knife," he whispered, reaching to take it. Bel only gripped the handle harder, and shook his head once more. Fran leaned in and kissed the prince, who slowly gave up and handed Fran the silver weapon. Fran just held onto it, having no pockets and no way he was going to put it in his maid uniform. Fran stepped back into the kitchen, Bel clinging to his arm, his eyes closed still.

"Voi, I told you to hurry back...," Squalo trailed off when he saw the odd scene, Fran walking over with Bel, who had just suffered a nosebleed, holding a knife in one hand, while the other was being squeezed tightly by Bel. "Voi...," Squalo said when the Mist walked right past him to turn on the sink, looking oddly serious. Fran pulled Bel's wrist under the water, ignoring the fact that the sleeve of his jacket was getting soaked as well.

"Long-haired commander," Fran said in a monotonous, but almost formal-sounding voice.

"... Yes...?"

"You have fish throat on your face," Fran deadpanned, looking up at Squalo blankly. Squalo blushed, embarassed, and took another napkin.

"Sword's gone dull," he mumbled.

"Ah."

Fran rubbed Bel's wrist with his thumbs to try and completely clear it of blood, causing the prince to blush a light shade of red. "Voi, brat," said Squalo to Fran, turning back to the fish he was cooking.

"Mmhm?"

"Do you have any suggestions for something I could give Xanxus? I'm not sure if he remembers, but tomorrow... is the anniversary of our first meeting, all the way back in school," Squalo said in a low voice.

"How do YOU remember that?" Fran asked, incredulous.

"I remember things like that... when it comes to Xanxus...," Squalo murmured.

"Huh...," Fran trailed. "Ne, senpai, do you remember the day we met?"

"I remember I found you unconcious on the ground and then took you to my room and put you in a bed with me...," Bel recalled quietly, "Don't remember what day it was."

"I remember waking up and hearing a voice behind me. I look and I see you. And omigod, I'm in a bed with some guy I don't even know, but hey, at least I'm dressed," Fran chuckled.

"Ushishi...," Bel whispered.

"So can you think of anything?" Squalo pressed. Fran considered for a moment.

"You could take him out for a Japanese dinner," he suggested.

"Take Sushi...," Bel added.

"No," said a voice from the door, "Sorry, Bel, haha... we had to close Take Sushi."

The three Varia turned to see the Vongola's Rain guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi. "Oh, you're that guy who was laughing for no apparent reason the first time I saw him," Fran remembered. "Rain, right?"

Yamamoto nodded. "Our sushi place closed after the Millefiore assassinated my old man," he told them in a voice just loud enough for them to hear.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Fran apologized, before turning to his comrades. "That family really went over the edge didn't they?" Both Rain and Storm looked very dark, before they spoke in unison,

"Are you kidding? We all lost our parents when we were under thirteen."

Fran winced at the creepy seriousness of the moment, seeing as he was the stress-relief character, and didn't see anything he could do to ease the tension. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly clapped his hands together, bringing the attention on him, and said,

"Alright! How about that breakfast?"

He was met with silence, and an almost visible rain cloud with the letters 'failure' appeared over Fran's head. Fran sighed and turned back to the counter. "Let's see... Long-haired commander, your fish is gonna burn and then you're gonna get in trouble with Xanxus. That's not something he's want for an anniversary, ne?"

Squalo turned to the fish and got back to work, though the silence wasn't quite relieved yet. Fran gestured Bel over to him. "Alright, senpai, I'm going to trust you to try and strike up a conversation with the sushi guy, if you just do that, then maybe he'll cheer up. He's like me, he's the funny character, and sad funny characters aren't good, notice how Levi's the only one of those we have."

"What's all this about characters?" Bel asked. Fran facepalmed.

'There I go again...'

"It's nothing, senpai, just comfort him, ne?"

"... I'll try," Bel agreed, before he walked over to the Rain guardian. "Ne, ne~"

"Yeah, Bel?" said Yamamoto, putting on a happy face the second Bel approached. The prince winced.

"On second thought, too happy for the prince," said Bel, turning and walking back to Fran. The kouhai gaped at the prince, shocked that he'd just walk away, and slapped him softly across the face.

"You, my friend, are the worst social man on the planet."

Bel, after getting over the initial shock of being slapped by his frog, pointed to himself, offended, and muttered, "But I'm a prince."

Fran muttered under his breath incoherently and gestured Bel to the stove. "Just watch it and turn off the heat if it smokes. I'll handle this."

Bel, though he hadn't the slightest idea how to 'turn off the heat', simply nodded, and allowed his kouhai to go talk to Yamamoto.

Luckily for the food, Takeshi was distracted soon after the start of the conversation, when Gokudera Hayato ran past, shouting at him, "Boss wants us!"

The two were immediately off to the conference room of the base, and Fran later found out that the Storm and Rain were going on an assignment together. He looked back to Bel, "Alright, anything burning yet?"

"As far as the prince knows, no," Bel replied, staring intently at the breakfast to-be.

"Alright, move over, prince 'charming'," Fran monotoned, air quoting 'charming'.

"What was that?" asked Bel, folding his arms. Fran dropped his hands to his sides.

"What?"

"The... the thing you just did," Bel said, imitating the air quotes.

Fran blinked slowly, realization entering the teal eyes, though it was masked rather skillfully. "It's American. I think... I'm pretty sure," he told the prince. "I just know it's not something you'd understand."

Bel snorted with contempt before stepping away from the stove. "Froggy's not very nice," he grumbled.

"We're going to Haru right after this, okay?"

"Huh? Why?"

Fran gave the prince a deadpan glare. "Uh, new clothes, I thought I made that clear this morning, idiotic fake prince."

Bel went wide eyed for a moment, stunned at the 'return of the horrid, false nickname', but soon grinned again, though the origin of apparent happiness wasn't clear.

-End Chapter

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><p>Fran: What the hell with the chapter ending?<br>Me: Hey! I thought it was too long.  
>Fran: But people LIKE long chapters! As long as they won't kill.<br>Me: *sigh* Okay, whatever... I need to work on "The Prince and His Pet"...  
>Fran: Yeah. You do that, otaku.<br>Me: *OFFENDED*  
>Bel: Ushishi~! This was all a bunch of nonsense anyway.<br>Me: *gasp!* Well, whatever. Ne, Yoko-chan! Does anything in here inspire you at all? I'd like to see a drawing of Ryohei running into a door, or Bel with a nosebleed... or Squalo with fish throat on his face, just... just so you know~

Bel: Oh? You want to have another fangirl spasm, little miss drugged on yaoi?  
>Me: 8O That was mean! Bel!<br>Hibari: Review or be bitten to death. Plus, the more reviews, the more Phoenix will be inspired, the faster this whole scenario will get moving. We're halfway through!  
>Me: Thanks Kyoya!<br>Hibari: Whatever, I want it to end soon.  
>Me: 8O<p> 


	10. Chapter 10: Alla Hobos Are Shocked

A Royal Spring

Chapter Ten

Alrighty! I have gained some motivation! From what? My reviews, of course!

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><p>"Master?" questioned Fran when Mukuro walked in, panic written in his expression.<p>

"Have you seen Kyouya?" he asked frantically.

"Huh? You lost your bird?" asked Fran, cocking his head to the side. Mukuro glared at him.

"This isn't a joke, Fran! Do you know where he went?"

Fran put his hands up in defense. "No, I don't know." Mukuro groaned in stressed frustration and ran out of the room. "Sheesh, what's with him?" Fran asked Bel, "It's like he's about to get attacked by the albino guy again."

"I know!" Bel agreed, "and I thought the trauma of that had cleared by now."

Fran shook his head with disagreement. "If that tropical fruit can't forget the number of times he's decieved someone, there's no way he'll forget that marshmellow guy."

Bel giggled and walked over to sit at the table, then pushed his chair back to swing his legs up onto the table. "Everyone's gonna get here soon~," he hummed.

"Yeah, now get your feet off the table, didn't you have a mother once?" the Mist scolded, pulling the prince's legs off of the table.

"Eh, for a short time," Bel agreed, amused to have his kouhai personally drag his legs off of the table. Squalo suddenly gave a loud, strained 'VOI', bringing the attention on him.

"I need an idea for Xanxus!" he shouted.

"Why is this, again?" Fran monotonously asked him.

"The anniversary of the first day we met is TOMORROW," Squalo said for the second time, his expression scrunched up in a rather comical thinking face.

"Well, think on your own, would you? I don't need any more pressure from anyone else," the young Mist grunted, giving Belphegor a point-making glance. The prince shi'd softly and reached up as much as he could to pat Fran on the head. Fran rolled his eyes and looked back to Squalo. "But you know, he might already have something planned."

Squalo went silent, a blush forming on his cheeks, apparently wanting to receive some affection from the Sky rather badly.

"Long-haired commander~?" said Fran in an almost mocking deadpan voice. Squalo shook his head to clear the thoughts clouding it, and looked back over at the Mist.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll think on my own," he grunted, before grabbing a plate and transferring his fried fish to it. "Brat."

"Shishishi~," Bel giggled, "The prince wonders if anyone's ever eaten a pineapple in front of Rokudo before."

After a pause of trying to comprehend what Bel meant, both Squalo and Fran were laughing as they imagined the scene. "Can you imagine the horror on his face?" snorted Fran between laughs.

"Shishi," Bel snickered, "Uh huh."

"What's so funny?" asked Mukuro, coming back into the room, his eyes so heavily filled with disappointment that it was almost hard to see that they were mismatched. Everyone went silent, though Fran had to help Squalo get his jaw off the ground.

"It's not good to do that, long haired commander," he muttered, "People will think they look weird."

Squalo rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "What's up with you, Rokudo?"

"I found out where Kyoya is," he muttered. "He's on a two-week long assignment. Without me."

Fran was fast to speak up. "Hey, it's not like you were clinging to him very well."

Everyone simultaneously looked at the frog-hatted illusionist, all confused. "What do you mean?" asked Mukuro. Fran glanced at Bel.

"Well... just reflect on the past few days," he said, his teal gaze turning back on Mukuro and his voice softening slightly. He put his hand on his own chest to emphasize what he was about to say. "You've been fawning over ME and ignoring HIM. Don't you think he felt a bit left out?" Fran then proceeded to use the totally cliche 'if you were in his shoes' method. "If he was ignoring you and paying more attention to another man, how would you feel?"

Mukuro considered for a moment, and no one missed the spark of anger that flashed through his gaze when he really began to ponder the situation. "I wouldn't like it," he admitted.

"Master, the full truth would be nice," Fran said, returning to his deadpan voice.

"I'd be sad, but more angry than sad... sadness is a pretty dumb emotion anyway, who came up with it... probably some girl..."

Fran flicked the taller illusionist's arm just as a 'come back to Earth' gesture. "Master, don't pick on the opposite sex when I'm acting as your therapist!" he protested. "Sheesh."

"Sorry Fran," Mukuro apologized, "I guess I'm just a little ticked off that he didn't say anything to me."

"Wake up and smell the sushi, Mukuro, this is Japan!" Fran said, failing at shaking the taller man by his shoulders.

"What the hell?" almost everyone in the room said simultaneously.

"I don't know, I felt like it," Fran returned, "but now that I realize that had nothing to do with the subject, I will rephrase."

"That's fine," Mukuro stopped him. "I get it."

There was another small silence, before suddenly-

CRASH.

Mukuro's eyes went wide for a moment as he took in a short breath, and it was soon after that he had fainted on the ground, small glass shards tangled in his hair.

"That was meant for Squalo," growled Xanxus, stepping in and looking at the shark. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah," said Squalo, looking down at Mukuro and wincing when the illusionist's dark blue hair started to darken with blood. "And how hard were you going to hit me with that?"

"Hard enough to break any normal person's skull," said Xanxus, smirking, "that trash got lucky."

Squalo gulped nervously and slowly went to get the breakfast, suprised at Xanxus's current mood. Fran poked the tense air and decided it was time to be funny again.

"Hey everyone!"

As usual, all attention was focused on Fran.

"What's with airline food?"

Somewhere in the background, a cricket chirped. But at least the tension was gone. "Shishishi~, Froggy, the prince doesn't get it."

"Neither do I, senpai, most of the jokes I get are from random American shows."

"Okay," Bel snickered.

"EXTREMELY UNCOOL!" screamed the Vongola Sun, running into the kitchen.

"What's extremely uncool?" asked Fran, unaffected by the randomness.

"Why does poor Lussuria have to clean bathrooms during breakfast?" Ryohei raged.

"'Cause he burned down our headquarters," replied Fran, setting a plate of pancakes on the table.

"So we're all hobos~," said Bel cheerfully.

"And we've just enough money to not be dead broke. 'Scuse me, Ryohei," said Mammon, floating in and holding their money in his hands. "We've got roughly two hundred euros and a thousand yen."

"A thousand yen?" repeated Fran. "Isn't that a lot?"

Everyone sadly shook their heads, except for Fran, Ryohei, and- of course- Mukuro, who was still passed out.

"Okay then," Fran mumbled, feeling ganged up upon.

"Alrighty~!" said Bel, clapping his hands together, "The prince is hungry."

"Bel-senpai, what did I say about ending words with an 'ee' sound? It's uncool," Fran scolded as the prince sat down.

"Don't wanna hear uncool from a frog in a maid outfit," giggled Bel. Fran, offended, was fast to throw a pancake into the prince's face.

"Froggy thinks the prince should shut up and eat his food," the illusionist snapped. Bel peeled the pancake off of his face, shrugged, and took a bite out of it.

"Whatever," he snickered.

Fran rolled his eyes and looked to where Ryohei was- or had been, at least. "Where's the extremely crazy guy?" asked Fran.

"Went to help Lussuria clean the bathrooms. Good thing too, I didn't want him here," said Mammon, hovering in the air.

"Okay, then," Fran said, before breaking into a yawn, "Man... 'm tired..."

"But Froggy," Bel spoke up, his cheeks puffing out from being stuffed with pancake, "You slept like a rock last night. Literally."

Fran poked Bel's cheeks and commented, "Well, my princely-chipmunk-senpai, I'll have you know that I got exactly three and a half hours of sleep, because a certain SOMEONE tends to snore."

"I was feigning sleep, Froggy!" protested Bel, swallowing his mouthful, "A prince doesn't snore."

"So I've heard, senpai. That only made it harder to fall asleep!" the kouhai complained, now tugging on a strand of Bel's hair. The prince batted him away, blushing lightly.

"Alright, the prince apologizes," he mumbled, before taking another ridiculously big bite out of his pancake. Fran made a Lussuria-style scolding face.

"Senpai, where are your manners? Really, would you eat like this in front of the president?"

Bel rolled his eyes and looked at Fran with annoyance, then said, his mouth full, "Shtop br-i-nging Amrrika 'nto conbersations."

"Swallow your food before you talk," the illusionist snapped, giving the prince a light whack on the shoulder.

"Man... I'm getting hungry just watching that little glutton," commented Levi, walking in. Xanxus, hearing the voice, turned and kicked at Levi, but accidentally hit Squalo instead. The shark groaned with pain and clutched his stomach, before looking up at Xanxus with a wince.

"V-voi!"

"It was meant for the Lightning trash, so just pass it on," muttered Xanxus, before sitting down at the table.

Squalo, infuriated at the fact that he'd been kicked by his lover, gave Levi an intense glare, then aimed a lazy, but fatal, punch at the Lightning. Levi walked out of the room shortly after, more annoyed than hurt. The Varia Rain guardian walked back over, his face expressionless as he took the seat beside Xanxus once again. Xanxus, sensing the unhappiness of his Guardian, was fast to lean in and kiss him on the cheek. Of course, he made sure it was at a time when no one was looking. All of the attention had turned on Mukuro, who was starting to recover from his mini coma.

"Ugh...," he moaned, trying to sit up. Fran, after receiving permission from Bel, helped the taller illusionist do so, and Mukuro's eyes fluttered dazily before they slowly opened. "Fran...?" he questioned, mismatched eyes looking with confusion at Fran's.

"Are you alright, Master?" the kouhai asked. Mukuro felt the back of his head, and his eyes went wide when he felt the blood. He looked at his hand, cursed his glove for being black, took off the glove, and felt again. When he saw the blood on his hand, he looked pissed off. He glared at Fran.

"Who attacked me?" he asked.

"Calm down, Xanxus accidentally hit you with his wine glass," Fran told him, not realizing how ridiculous that sounded until Mukuro's mismatched glare worsened.

"Accidentally cracked my skull open, you mean?" Mukuro asked, before giving a pained look and moving his hand to the back of his head again.  
>"Master, really, chill," Fran said, putting his hand on Mukuro's cheek so the illusionist would look at him.<p>

"Hey... hey Fran...," the illusionist said, "you're really cute, you know?"

Everyone fell silent, until Bel decided it was time for a princely intervension. "You DARE call Fran cute when he's made it so clear that he doesn't want to be around you?" the prince hissed, pressing a knife to Mukuro's throat. "Get back, Froggy, I'm not going to hold back, and you can't stop me."

"Senpai, no, he got hit really hard, maybe he's just got a touch of amnesia?" Fran suggested, tugging on the prince's arm. "Come on, senpai!"

"Amnesia? Kufufu~, not me, Fran," Mukuro said, standing, then tripping, and finally managing to support himself with a chair. "I just have a bit of a hazy knowing of the most recent events... Is someone important to me currently out?"

"Y-yeah, Hibari just left on a two-week long assignment... you were really upset about it, too," Fran murmured.

"K-kyouya...?" Mukuro said, suddenly looking confused, before brightening, "Oh! Probably because I'd be missing all of the battles we went through constantly~"

Everyone stood stiff, shocked beyond words.

"Something the matter?" the tall illusionist asked, looking about the room.

And there wasn't one person in the room who didn't have the thought...

That Hibari had some biting to do.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>BOOM! And there's a cliffhanger! Out of nowhere! Yeah! Yeaaaah! Woo! Now... Who's gonnna high-five me? *gets pelted with random heavy objects* Ow! OW! Stop it! Please! *pelting stops* Heh... didn't know you guys liked the story that much! *rock hits head* OWWW!<br>Okay, fine, I'll try to update again as soon as possible.  
>And I'll write faster if you people review, remember that! Really! How many times have I said it now? *sigh*<br>Hibari: REVIEW OR BE BITTEN TO DEATH!  
>Mukuro: What he said!<p>

Me: Oh wait! I have a story! Okay, I have this friend. She doesn't know anything about Reborn, she doesn't watch it. But I was playing Kufufu no Fu so she could hear it, and all of a sudden, she said, "This sounds like pineapples."  
>IS SHE PSYCHIC? Some questions will never be answered.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: Alla Hobos Talk too Much

A Royal Spring Chapter eleven

Ooh, cliffhangers get you people to review, I see. X) I'm very sorry for late uploads now- my old netbook broke, so I had to download my files before anything got worse, and I just got my new netbook. Sorry if there's any errors, I'm not used to this keyboard.  
>I just recieved a BURST OF INSPIRATION from some reviews... And two reviews said that I have a unique writing style. Is it true? Do I really? *hopeful*<p>

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><p>10:30 AM, Room M18<p>

Fran sat Mukuro down on the bed, Bel at the door, waiting to be dismissed. The teal-haired illusionist glanced at Bel. "You're definitely okay with this?" he said quietly.

"Don't let anything happen this time," Bel whispered back, no grin on his face. Fran nodded, and the prince left, closing the door slowly and silently. Fran looked back at Mukuro.

"Is this room familiar to you at all?" he asked. Mukuro looked about him, then arched a brow in confusion.

"Yes...? No... I don't know. I feel like I've been here, but...," the older illusionist trailed off, softly kneading the bed sheets. "I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly who's bedroom this is." Then, the Mist saw his trident in the corner and stood, then picked it up uncertainly. "Is this... my room?"

"Y-yes," Fran said. Mukuro began to look concerned.

"How long has this been my room?"

"Over a year, Master," Fran told him. Mukuro's mismatched gaze widened with his suprise, and he slowly sat back down on the bed.

"I don't remember... why?" Mukuro asked, rubbing his forehead with frustration.

"Probably because... it wasn't just YOURS," Fran told the illusionist, looking at him seriously. Mukuro lied down on the bed and sighed.

"Who else, then?" he asked. Fran moved the bed sheets over Mukuro, hoping the illusionist would just smell the sheets and realize it by himself. The illusionist rolled onto his side, obviously detecting the scent of someone else, but unfortunately... "I don't recognize it, Fran," Mukuro murmured, "You'll have to just explain it to me."

"That's Hibari," Fran told the other Mist, his voice low. Mukuro sat up instantly, shock in his expression.

"No!" he shouted. Fran flinched upon getting that strong of a reaction. The older man calmed slightly when he saw the flash of anxiety in his former apprentice's eyes. "No... that... that can't be. Are you saying, Fran, that Kyouya and I...," the illusionist trailed off, blushing, "that we shared a bed?"

"More than that, Master," Fran mumbled, giving Mukuro a look that said, 'think outside the box and figure it out.'

Mukuro got out of the bed, standing up and looking about the room. His eyes were mean. "I refuse to believe this," he muttered, a furious blush on his face. He glared at Fran. "Kyouya and my relationship is a simple, respectable, rivalry! We do not... we don't do things like that!"

Fran stood as well, feeling indigant. "Hey, I'm just telling you the truth! Don't get all pissed off at me!" he monotoned, though in a slightly raised, annoyed voice.

Mukuro quieted, looking down. "I won't believe it," he repeated. With that, the illusionist walked out of the room, leaving a frustrated Fran behind him. Fran decided that they would have to wait for Hibari to return in order to convince Mukuro of their relationship, and left after Mukuro.

Bel was waiting outside. Fran looked at him with defeat in his eyes and hugged the prince. "I can't convince him. He completely believes that Hibari and him are still one-hundred-percent rivals. Man, Hibari's gonna be pissed..."

"The prince supposes so. But you know... the prince could always STAB some sense into that pineapple."

Fran took the knives Bel had drawn away from him. "No. You aren't attacking Master; that won't help him at all." The prince snorted and folded his arms.

"No-fun-frog," he muttered. Fran rolled his eyes, when a thought struck him and he took the prince's hand.

"Hey, we have some time to relax, how about we go out?" the illusionist suggested.

"Oh? This sure is new... is Froggy making a move on the prince?" Bel asked, grinning with the mere thought. Fran gave his senpai a deadpan look as his only response.

"Are you gonna say yes or just stand there like a love-struck girl?" he growled.

"I'm a PRINCE, Froggy," Bel protested, "Oh, but Froggy has a point. Yeah, the prince accepts your humble plea for attention."

Fran, offended, made sure the prince got a good punch to the shoulder that just resulted in amused giggling, then walked away, silently making his way towards the entrance to the Vongola entrance. The prince chased after him when the smaller man had gotten 'chasing distance' away from him, and caught the Mist in his arms.

"You really are the best thing that's ever happened to me, aren't you, Fran?" he whispered against Fran's ear. The illusionist blushed deeply, not ever hearing such a high compliment from the prince. Bel had even used his name! He turned to look at the blonde, but he had already backed off.

"Senpai...," he murmured, his cheeks darkening even more at the sight of the apparently VERY charming prince.

"Hm?" Bel hummed, folding his arms behind his head. "What, did I say something too nice for you?"

Fran looked away, the tiniest smile tugging at his lips. "No, that was perfect," he whispered.

"What?" Bel questioned, and almost visible question mark floating over his head. Fran gestured the prince over as he began to walk again.

"Come on, we're going on a date, aren't we? I beckon thee hither!" he called. "And I know what you're going to ask, but I wasn't making an American joke that time."

"What was it, then?" asked the prince, catching up.

"Old Japanese talk. (A/N: Okay, I don't have to explain that I'm just a translater, right? *wink wink, cough cough*) This guy named Basil was talking to me funny, and the Vongola boss explained the situation. Apparently the Vongola's father taught Basil old Japanese as a joke, and now Basil can't get out of the habit, so-"

"Okay, okay," Bel interrupted, "I get it. Sheesh... sometimes you just don't shut up."  
>The relaxed air completely vanished then.<p>

"I don't shut up? What about you, mister 'I need red carpets' 'cause I'm a prince', 'I want strawberry ice cream for breakfast,' 'don't poke the prince' and 'let's go kill someone'?" Fran snapped.

"I never said any of that!" Bel lied.

"Oh, really? How about 'we're a bunch of hobos on a helicopter'?"

"... That was Monta."

"What was Monta?" asked a childish voice from behind the couple. The two turned on their heels to see Mammon, a fair amount of yen and euros in his hands.

"Uhh... nothing!" Bel said, looking away and whistling innocently. It was easier to look innocent when you can actually whistle, though, and, as it turned out, Bel wasn't the best.

"He says I can't shut up," Fran complained.

"Sometimes, Fran, you just can't," Mammon agreed, "Remember when we were out in the forest? Sometimes I got woken up by 'Bel-senpaaai... where are you... I want to come back... senpai...'. That was pretty damn annoying."

"Oh-," Fran made a random startled noise, and suddenly copied Bel by looking in the opposite direction and whistling. Bel, suprised by Mammon's remark, stopped his bad whistling to look over at Fran.

"You dreamt about me when you were out in the forest?" he asked quietly. Fran also stopped whistling, and glanced at the door, made a half-second descision, and dashed out of the base. He was quickly followed, as Mammon resumed his money-counting.

"Fran," Bel called, grabbing the illusionist's arm, then pulling him back and turning him around. The prince quickly sealed the younger man's lips with his own, unable to contain his happiness. Fran closed his eyes, unable to meet those of the prince in such an intimate moment, and put his hands up on Bel's shoulders as his lips were caressed by the Storm. Bel parted much too soon, but the kiss was enough when Fran heard the three, most wonderful words any being could hear.

"I love you."

-End Chapter

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><p>Wau, lotza Bel-Fran here! Sorry if this chapter isn't long enough for everyone... again, I'm trying to get used to the new keyboard...<br>Anyways, reviews help me upload, and they simply make me happy. So if you want more uploads and a happy author, you'll review!  
>... Right?<p> 


	12. Chapter 12: Alla Hobos Pull Pranks

A Royal Spring Chapter Twelve

Hearing that I have a unique style makes me endlessly happy for some reason! *hands cookies to reviewers*  
>Ahh, don't spoil me too much, though, I always appreciate constructive criticism~<p>

* * *

><p>"So where are we gonna go?" asked Bel, starting to walk in a random direction, leaving a paralyzed Fran behind him. The illusionist shook himself out of his thoughts and caught up to the prince, forgetting any worries he had about Mukuro. He took the prince's hand and whispered,<p>

"Anywhere, as long as I'm with you."

Bel blushed lightly and gave a soft snicker. "Shishishi~ Ah, Froggy, have you always been this romantic?" he hummed.

"Of course, senpai, I just never showed that to you," Fran chuckled, also blushing. The two smiled at each other and began to walk into the Namimori shopping district, hand in hand.

Meanwhile... still in Vongola headquarters...

Mukuro sat down on the bed again and took out his cell phone. He looked at the picture on the screen, confusion pulsing through his very bloodstream to give him a headache. It was Hibari; the ex-prefect appeared to have been asleep on Mukuro's chest when the picture was taken.

'Cute...,' the illusionist, before shaking his head. 'Wait... what? No... that's not right. He's my rival. Nothing more.'

He closed his phone and looked around the room again. He saw a bar sticking out from the bed and reached down to pick it up. His mismatched eyes widened with suprise when the object came into view. It was one of Hibari's tonfa's, and there was a note tied around it. Mukuro, perplexed, went ahead and took the paper off to read it.

'Thinking about you every second. Hope to come back soon and see you again.  
>-Hibari'<p>

Mukuro frowned and folded up the note, then put it in his pocket. 'What the hell...?' he thought, 'That can't possibly be from Kyouya... I mean... he'd never say that! Perhaps this is all a prank my apprentice is playing on me. Yes... he wants me to run up to Kyouya like a silly little girl and wag my tail, only to get whacked. Damn... I should've known!'

The Mist opened his phone again. 'But that doesn't explain why...' He looked at the sleeping face of the prefect, with his eyebrows fixed in a sort of unsettled expression, and his lips parted ever-so-slightly. 'I highly doubt Kyouya can feign sleep like that. And how would Fran get a picture of Kyouya asleep without letting slip his prank, anyway? This is crazy...'

"Kufufufu... of course... I AM the one who taught Fran to use such strong illusions that he could fool a machine. Let's just see if Kyouya's phone number is on here... that should prove my theory."

"So... how about a killing spree?" suggested Bel, drawing a knife out and flipping it in his hand.

"No, senpai, that's not even romantic," Fran deadpanned.

"Sure it is," the storm mumbled, "The blood spurting everywhere like a fountain of liquid roses-"

"I'll stop you right there, senpai," the younger man cut off. "FYI, there is no such thing as a liquid rose, and blood is not romantic, idiotic prince."

STAB.

"Don't insult the prince when he has a knife in his hand. What does FYI mean?"

"Ugh. For. Your. Information," Fran muttered, punctuating every word. The prince crossed his arms in protest, though he didn't comment. The Mist, after figuring that it was too gloomy for a 'date atmosphere' now, poked Bel in the cheek and, after recieving the wanted attention, leaned up and kissed Bel lightly on the lips.

The prince paused, momentarily stunned, and breathed out, "In public?"

"I don't mind the stares. After all, I'm proud to be seen by your side, Bel-senpai," Fran answered quietly, before taking the prince's hand. "Come on, this is a date, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah," Bel whispered, the kouhai's words still ringing sweetly in his ears. He squeezed Fran's hand gently.

'I'm starting to fear that I'm not the only prince in this relationship, Froggy.'

Mukuro groaned in annoyance when he saw that he did indeed have Hibari's phone number.

'So what now? I have Kyouya's number. Maybe, as an assassin, Fran was able to get it somehow? But why would he go to so much trouble to pull a joke?'

Flashback...

"How many times do I have to tell you I did NOT order pizza? God, you people are so insane!" Mukuro shouted at the delivery man, frustrated.

"Hey, I only get the order, and then I bring the food to the house. You call me crazy?" the deliveryman asked, "Honestly, I think I'm rather in tact upstairs. What about you, sir?"

"Ah, it's finally here," Fran said, stepping in. "Ohai, Master. What's up?"

"Fran?"

"Dude, I ordered pizza like two hours ago. Why are you so late?" Fran deadpanned.

He looked from Mukuro to the delivery man and back again, pretending to be confused, but the older illusionist could see quite clearly that sparkle of amusement in Fran's eyes.

'He watched me argue with this guy for two hours just to come down NOW?'

End Flashback.

'Fran does like his pranks,' Mukuro recalled, 'and he does go to a lot to make sure they go smoothly. But this... this is beyond Fran! ... Perhaps Belphegor helped him? Yes, the two of them together could be the ultimate team of pranks.'

The illusionist pondered his thoughts for a while longer.

'Okay. I'll tap into Fran's thoughts and see what's on his mind. ... This should be fun.'  
>Mukuro closed his eyes and searched for Fran with his spirit. It was only a matter of seconds before all of Fran's thoughts were readable.<p>

'Don't say anything... just listen,' the mentor reminded himself before exploring Fran's thoughts.

'Bel-senpai's blushing again. Mm... looks like I'll be the more manly one soon enough, princess Bel-senpai,' he heard the kouhai's most recent hope. He had to hold back a sharp remark at the thought, but, though that was difficult, he was able to prevent himself from giving away his position.

'A garden? Well, it's better than blood, I guess. Okay, senpai, we can go to see the koi fish- Wow, he's strong. Let go of my arm, stupid prince. Ahh... I wonder how Master's doing?'

Mukuro's heart skipped a beat. Fran was finally thinking about him.

'Senpai, the sign says not to touch that.'

The illusionist practically fell over. 'One thought is all I get? ONE?' he roared.

'Ack! Master, what the hell! I'm busy!' Fran yelled, trying to push Mukuro's mind back into his own body.

'You only thought about me for a second and then you went back to that stupid prince charming of yours!' Mukuro whined, 'Why can't you think about me for a longer period of time?'

'Master, I'm on a date with Bel-senpai!'

'Answer my question! I want to know why you never think about ME! Me, who took care of you from the time you were abandoned by your parents to this very day!'

'Master, stop.'

'Fran, why don't you let me occupy your every thought? Why is it all Belpehgor?'  
>'Because I don't love you!' Fran shouted.<p>

Suddenly, it was very quiet. Fran said no more, and Mukuro was too suprised to keep complaining. After that long and hurtful break in conversation, the illusionist left Fran's thoughts, returning to his own body. He felt really rotten then. That he'd suddenly brought up so much. He'd riled up Fran by yelling, and he'd probably hurt the younger illusionist when he brought up the dark beginning of their relationship.

Mukuro lied down on his (and Hibari's) bed, and hugged a pillow close to him. Hibari's scent lingered on the pillow still, and that made the illusionist unconciously hug it closer to himself. He inhaled the prefect's scent along with the normal air, and within minutes, he was able to fall asleep. He was still unaware that it would've taken twice as long without any trace of the Cloud in the air.

Fran was looking very upset for some reason, so Bel nudged him, concerned. "Hey, just because I poked the tree doesn't mean that we're gonna get arrested. The sign could be bigger anyway. Cheer up, Froggy."

"It's not you, it's Master," Fran spat. Bel understood.

"What did he say?"

"Some really selfish crap that he should've kept to himself. He's still damned jealous. I hope Hibari comes back and pounds some sense into Mukuro. I don't care how he does that, as long as he really POUNDS the sense into him," Fran hissed, venom in his voice. He looked up at Bel. "What are you smiling for?" he snapped.

"The prince is amused."

"Why's that?"

"Shishishi~ Froggy would slap the prince for being 'a pervert', so the prince isn't gonna point it out."

Fran blinked a couple times, confused, but brushed it off and pointed ahead of them. "The koi pond is over there."

"Alrighty, let's go," Bel said, taking the younger man's hand and dragging him over, happy that the illusionist dropped the subject.

A few hours later...

"Nnng..."

Mukuro gave a half-hearted stretch, yawning against the fabric of the pillow. He nuzzled into the cloth for a moment before he forced his eyes open. He sat up groggily, as though he'd been drugged into sleep, and he rubbed his eyes, still trying to wake himself up all the way.

'Kyouya...'

He paused, confused.

'Wait... what? I just thought of Kyouya for some reason...'

Mukuro blushed shamefully at himself and placed a hand over his face.

'Why?' he thought, 'Why did I just think of him? What the hell...?'

"Master? You awake?" called a voice from behind the door. Mukuro brushed off his self-inflicted blush, but quickly recalled his previous conversation and ended up flushing a shade of red that was twice as noticable. He got out of the bed, trying his best not to look embarassed even though his face was practically on fire.

"Yeah...," he rasped, cracking the door open. He was met with Fran's confused teal eyes.

"What's the matter with you?" Fran asked, blinking his confusion away.

"Oh... I'm just tired," Mukuro said, his voice cracking.

"Just tired, Master?" the apprentice repeated, uncertain. He knew that Mukuro often lied to him about his true feelings, but Fran wasn't sure what the illusionist had to hide this time. It was then that the younger Mist remembered the earlier conversation as well. He looked down. "Look, I'm sorry about snapping earlier," he apologized, "I got a bit too riled up."

Mukuro stepped out of his room and embraced Fran carefully. Fran blinked slowy, masking his suprise. "I should be the one apologizing. I was acting so immature..."

Fran returned the embrace for just a moment before gently pushing his mentor away from him. "You have Hibari," he said in a quiet voice.

"... I'll have to see it to believe it," Mukuro muttered, looking away, "I don't believe Kyouya lo... I don't believe he would show affection towards anyone- let alone myself."

"Then wait," the younger Mist ordered, his voice confident, "Wait for Hibari to prove it all by himself." With that, Fran shot his mentor a quick, challenging smirk before turning on his heels and walking away. "Come to dinner in a half hour, 'kay?"

Mukuro nodded, even though Fran had his back to him. 'Woah, what was that just now? Fran just SMIRKED at me! That was actually kind of creepy.'

'You have no room to talk, Master.'

'GAH! F-FRAN?'

'Just thought you should feel what it's like to have someone violate your thoughts. Don't worry, I won't do it for that much longer.'

Startled, the older illusionist left for his room again.

Fran high-fived Bel when the disguised prince came back over.

"Thanks for playing my role. You did pretty good. Though the last few movements weren't really me."

"I was trying to make you look princely," argued Bel as the illusion cast on him vanished.

"Huh. Well thanks, though I'm not a prince like you," Fran mumbled, acting like the ceiling was suddenly an object of great importance.

"Hey, look at me," Bel said. "What did it feel like to know that the prince could've totally ruined your relationship with Mukuro?"

"I didn't think about it, actually," Fran told him. "Oh, and nice job hugging him back instead of punching him."

"The prince was hoping that treating Mukuro like someone he tolerates would give him the privilage of kissing Froggy tonight," Bel hummed, using his signature grin.

"I'll think about it," Fran agreed. "Now come on. I need to get dressed for work."

-End Chapter

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><p>Woah! A sudden fast upload! The week before finals, too! X) Happy, everyone? Btw, my uploading will be really fast over the summer~ Just a heads-up. Summer begins for me on June 22! Countdown begins now!<p> 


	13. Chapter 13: Alla Hobos A Week Later

A ROYAL SPRING CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I'm on summer break peoples! Woo! Heh... yeah, I'll need to pick up the pace here so I can move on to 'A Royal Summer', ne? But don't worry, I won't DARE cut chapters. 8)

* * *

><p>A week later...<p>

Mukuro stepped out of his room and began to walk to breakfast. He saw Fran and Bel walking ahead of him and he wolf-whistled, stopping them in their tracks. The couple simultaneously turned to see him.

"Heyy, lovebirds. You two on your way to breakfast?"

"He's on his way to breakfast. I'm on my way to work," Fran said, smiling. Mukuro smirked.

"It's amazing that you can smile while you're wearing a maid outfit, my cute little apprentice," he teased, pulling the dress up a bit. Fran instinctively punched him.

"Sorry, Master, that's habit. If someone other than senpai tries to be a pervert, I hurt them."

The two walked away, Bel giggling as he wrapped an arm around Fran's shoulders.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Xanxus stared at the hurt Mukuro for a moment, and kneeled beside him, holding out a bottle. "Drink this, it'll cheer you up."

Xanxus left.

Mukuro read the lable on the bottle and chuckled darkly. "Honestly, Xanxus, I don't want to get drunk this early in the morning."

* * *

><p>"Hey, long-haired commander," greeted Fran, stepping into the kitchen. "What're we cooking today?"<p>

"If you scramble some eggs, I'll do miso soup."

Fran winkled his nose. "Miso soup for breakfast?"

"It's been a week since new groceries were brought in, so we don't have much variety," the shark sighed. "Do you want to go out and shop later?"

"Maybe. I guess that depends on Bel-senpai," Fran replied, going to the refrigerator and pulling out six eggs. He got out a pan and began to crack the eggs into the pot.

"You let that prince control you too much," Squalo muttered.

"You let Xanxus control you much more than I let Bel-senpai control me."

"Not true. Last night, I convinced him not to drink another beer and get drunk," Squalo argued, lightly punching Fran's arm.

"Ow, ow, ow, Long-haired commander, why'd you hit me? That wasn't nice," Fran complained.

"I barely hit you!" the Rain Guardian returned, glaring, "What the hell, Fran?"

Fran blinked a couple of times. "I- I was joking!" the Mist said, then punched his other arm. "See? I'm fine."

Squalo gave Fran a suspicious look, then caught sight of the clock. "Damn, we need to keep working. I'm sure there's some people already headed here."

"Okay," Fran said, though he pressed lightly on where he'd been hit by Squalo. 'I knew that would bruise. Thanks a lot, senpai. Now my arm hurts like hell.'

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Levi was talking to the 'stupid cow from the ring battle.'<p>

"Why do you help the girls cook?" he questioned.

"'Cause it's fun," Lambo replied simply, trying to get out of the other man's grip. "Could you... let go of me?"

"You're so weak, and you almost killed me," Levi growled.

"Ahahaha, well, as the saying goes, a cornered cow will nail ya," the Vongola laughed nervously, looking elsewhere.

"I've never heard anyone say that before," Levi muttered, digging his nails harshly into the other Lightning's arm.

"Oww...," Lambo protested, his eyes welling up with tears, "It's a Japanese proverb, let me go, pervert!"

"Pervert?" snickered Levi, "Well, how about you summon your older self to try and beat me up again!"

"Wha- I don't even know where the Ten-Year-Bazooka is, you jerk!" cried Lambo, before wiping at his tears with his sleeve.

"Levi-chan!" called Lussuria, coming over to break up the little fight. "Stop torturing this poor little kid!"

"I hate this kid, so I have perfectly good reason to torture him," the older Lightning replied.

"Hold... it... in...," Lambo sniffled as a sort of response.

Lussuria, after a moment of consideration, kicked Levi's arm that held Lambo hostage. The second the cow child was free, he ran away at full speed. "Urg- Luss, why the hell did you do that?" protested Levi, gripping his arm.

"I just have a slight intolerance for my teammates bullying little children. Especially ones with such potential in their future!" Lussuria announced, "Now you go to your room; you are officially in time-out!"

Levi stared at the Sun for a moment. "Bye, I'm going to breakfast now."

"Oh, of course~! Breakfast- hey, no, I told you to go to your room, old man, do you hear me?" raged the gay man.

"Loud and clear," mumbled Levi, "But you aren't my mother."

Lussuria gasped, then shouted out, "OF COURSE I'M YOUR MOTHER, YOU SILLY CHILD!"

"Shut up, man, you're embarassing me," complained Levi. Lussuria pouted as the Lightning walked away. Suddenly, Lussuria heard footsteps, accompanied by a very loud voice...

"EXTREME BEFORE-BREAKFAST- Oh, hey, Lussuria," said Ryohei's brother, skidding to a stop. Lussuria smiled.

"Hi, dear, how are you this morning?"

"Me? Oh, I'm EXTREME every morning!"

* * *

><p>Fran set the plate of scrambled eggs on the table beside Squalo's ridiculously large pot of miso soup. "Looks like everyone's having soup this morning, whether they like it or not," he sighed.<p>

"Come on, Fran, what Japanese doesn't like miso soup?" Squalo muttered.

"Long-haired commander, at least half of the Vongola are Italian," Fran pointed out, "You know, the Vongola boss himself is half Italian, and then there's Master, the yelling guy, the cow, the Arcobaleno, me, you, senpai, boss, gaylord, lightning pervert, you see what I'm saying? And the most Japanese guy is on a mission for- oh... he's supposed to be coming back soon, actually, isn't he?"

Squalo sighed. "Yeah, alright, we're going to have to go shopping today... so go tell your prince about it. And if he asks, he can't come with us."

"Why's that?"'

"'Cause he'll kill a bunch of people, break glasses, throw food, beg to get a pineapple just to tease Mukuro, stab things, giggle, make us look bad, blind people with the sunlight reflecting from his tiara, make girls jealous of us, somehow manage to start a war between Japan and Canada, kill a Mafioso without knowing it, chase frogs, try to convince us to buy him something, breakdance in the middle of the street, wear a wig, try to stab down airplanes, mistake people for other people, climb trees, tell everyone he sees that he's a prince, whine when he doesn't get what he wants, kiss you in public, braid my hair, prank call the police station, imitate someone we know in a humiliating way, poke things, get arrested, buy another frog hat, buy marshmallows to try and lure out the spirit of Byakuran, try to go into a hair salon, dive into a lake after a frog, buy icecream, point at random people and laugh for no apparent reason-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, senpai's a little... crazy," Fran concluded, believing that the list really never ended.

"Are you silly maids talking about the prince?" Bel called from the door, "'Cause the prince doesn't like it."

"Senpai, I'm going to go grocery shopping with long-haired commander, alright?" Fran told the prince.

"Can I come?" the Storm asked with a grin.

"No, you can't."

"Aww, why not?" Bel whined. Fran snapped his fingers and Squalo recited the whole list again. When he was done, Belphegor was laughing his head off. Once he had calmed down, he said, "Okay, I would NOT chase frogs."

"Would you do all of the other things?" Fran asked. Bel thought for a moment and giggled.

"Probably."

"Senpai, you would cause a war between Japan and Canada?"

"It would be an accident."

"You would buy marshmallows and try to lure out the spirit of Byakuran?"

"I'd use a ward against evil if he actually showed up!"

"You'd point at random people and laugh for no apparent reason?"

"What if their face was funny? I'd have no choice but to point and laugh, right?"

"Prank call the police station?"

"Ushishi, it's so much fun to do that!"

Fran sighed. "What a maniac. Someone needs to put you in a padded room."

"Huh?"

Bel did not get the joke.

* * *

><p>"Well, Fran, looks like you've got a tad of crazy yourself," Squalo chuckled when he and Fran walked out of the base.<p>

"Are you kidding? I'm totally sane," Fran protested.

"You'd have to be a little crazy to date that psychotic prince," the Rain pointed out. "Really now."

"... You have a point," the illusionist mumbled, "but I couldn't help falling for him. He's a prince, dammit."

"Heh, he's YOUR prince, Fran, hardly anyone else calls him that except for his subordinates- which do that out of fear."

"So, what, is Xanxus your prince?" Fran asked.

"Xanxus, prince? No way. Xanxus is my king," Squalo announced proudly.

"Heh, and you're the queen. Real nice," the Mist chuckled.

"Well that makes you a princess, now doesn't it?" the Rain returned. Suddenly, both froze, realizing the relationship between king and queen to princess and prince. They simultaneously groaned. "Okay, nevermind that," Squalo muttered, "You are NOT my child."

"I feel sorry for the poor princess that has YOU for a mother, gross!" Fran returned.

"And that brat Bel isn't mine, either, no, my child would be much more polite."

"You're child would have no self-confidence and fear the world, long-haired commander."

"Yeah? Well you're givin' birth to a tadpole, you know that?"

"I can't give birth, you idiot, I'm a man! You're gonna have a fish, you know."

"I'm a man, too, Fran!"

"Maybe we should drop the subject!"

"I'm only dropping it if you don't pick it back up!"

"I won't pick it back up!"

"Then we'll drop it!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

There was a silence in which the two men looked around them. Everyone in town was staring awkwardly at them. They both groaned again. "Way to go, long-haired commander, now everyone thinks we're gay."

"This is your fault," Squalo returned. "Tadpole-mother."

"Hey, you just picked it back up, fish-face."

"You picked it up first, gay tadpole-mother."

"My tadpoles are not gay."

"Yeah, they are."

"Alright, gay fish-face, you wanna go?"

"Go where?"

"I'm picking a fight with you."

"Nah, we need to get the groceries."

"Oh yeah."

And so, Fran and Squalo proceeded to go shopping without further arguement.

-End Chapter

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><p>Yeah! Who liked that bit that was 99.99% dialogue? I know I did! Ha ha ha... sorry, I'll try and make the next chapter more plotful.<br>Fran: You made me argue with long-haired commander for an awfully long time.

Hibari: REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO RETURN!


	14. Chapter 14: Alla Hobos Try to Help

A Royal Spring Chapter... chap... chapter... uhhh...

Fran: It's chapter fourteen, you stupid otaku.  
>Me: Oyaoya? Stupid?<br>Fran: Dude. You fail at Mukuro imitations.  
>Me: Kufufu...?<br>Fran: You're not good at it, "Phoenix"  
>Me: Hey, you waaay overemphasized the 'Phoenix'. Not cool, man.<br>Fran: Don't care. Now start writing, you actually have FANS!  
>Me: Oh YEAAAAAH! I do, don't I? Heh heh... OKAY WRITING BEGINS NOW! ... AND I'M ON A PLANE! 8D<p>

* * *

><p>Varia Headquarters. Day after I left off, 10:54 AM<p>

"Spanner, hand me that thing."

"What thing?"

"That thing!"

"Oh, THAT thing."

Shoichi took the metallic bar and used it to hold two others together, sighing. "Spanner, I don't think we'll be able to finish this week. We've only got the frame up; we need to put the walls together, we need to fire-proof the whole base so it doesn't burn down again... we might need another whole month."

"Month? Are you sure?" Spanner repeated, a wrench-shaped lollipop hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah. Should I call Tsunayoshi and give him a heads up?"

"Aww man, that'll cut into my summer though!" the former Black Spell mechanic complained.

"Spanner...," sighed Irie, "this is more important than summer. We'd have to work extra hard day and night to get it done even by next week."

"Ugh... stupid Varia and their stupid Sun guardian...," Spanner grumbled. "Really, what are they? Five?"

"Spanner, stop complaining," Shoichi snapped, "There's this week and next week left of spring, so if you don't want it to cut into summer... hand me that other thing."

"What thing?"

* * *

><p>"Spanner!"<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Vongola Headquarters<p>

"Fran-san," the Vongola boss called, stepping into the kitchen. Fran, who was preparing sandwiches, turned around, saluting with a knife.

"Yes, Vongola X?"

"We need to talk."

"Long-haired commander, did you tell on me?" Fran snapped at Squalo.

"What would I tell on you for, exactly?" the Rain guardian shouted, "and WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, VONGOLA? IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU'VE COME TO BUG US!"

"Vooooooi," Fran repeated, "I haven't heard you voi in a long time, long-haired commander."

"Forget that," Squalo snapped, "Why are you here, brat, what do you want?"

"I want to talk to Fran," Tsunayoshi replied nicely.

"Alrighty boss," Fran agreed, walking out of the kitchen to obey the Vongola's orders. "What's up?" he asked casually. Belphegor was in their room at the time with Haru and Kyoko, making 'improvements' to Fran's frog hat.

"Listen," the Vongola started, sounding firm, "Hibari-san was injured on his mission. It's minor- to him, at least- but it's a broken bone. I need you to tell Mukuro that Hibari-san has returned. Then I want you to tell him that Hibari-san broke his leg on the assignment."

"Uhh... how is that minor, exactly?" Fran asked.

"It's very easy to fix. Problem is, Hibari-san refuses to let Ryohei treat him, and I'm sorry, but no one wants Lussuria to touch Hibari. So listen, you need to tell Mukuro to convince Hibari-san to let Ryohei treat him, because we don't want our strongest member in the hospital for something like a broken leg. Are we clear?" said Tsuna.

"Well, boss, I dunno about that," Fran returned, hesitant. "I'm not entirely sure, you see, whether Master's open to the idea of dating skylark-san quite yet."

"Just TELL HIM," the Vongola insisted. "This is truthfully something only you can do, Fran."

"Don't try to make me feel special," the illusionist muttered, "I'll do it anyway. Where is skylark-san, anyway? I imagine Master will want to see him."

"Oh, here, I'll give you a map. He's in this hospital here...," Tsuna told Fran, pointing to the location on the map.

Mukuro lied in his bed, his thoughts racing. 'Why do I keep thinking of Kyouya? This is ridiculous, I even dreamt about him last night! Dreamt! Why? Why would I dream about him...?'

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Master~!" called a sing-song monotone from the door (sing-song monotone? Is that possible?).

"Fran?" Mukuro called back, getting out of bed.

"I have news for you," Fran replied. "So open the door, would you?"

The older illusionist hurried to the door and opened it for Fran, allowing his apprentice inside. Fran stepped inside. "Hey, are you alright? Is skylark-san on your mind? (Mukuro blushed) Well, that's convenient, 'cause he's back from his assignment!"

"What?" Mukuro gasped on reflex, but Fran just continued on.

"But here's the thing, Master, see he went and broke his leg~," Fran said in a voice too cheerful for the situation. Mukuro gasped, his face not hiding utter shock. "And skylark-san refuses to let anyone treat him with flames, so you're gonna have to go and slap some sense into that guy-"

"Where is he?" Mukuro cut off, his expression still suprised.

"Follow me, Master," Fran said, before leading the taller illusionist out of his room to go to the hospital.

"I'm sorry, sirs, Hibari-san isn't seeing anyone right now. He says he wishes to be left alone. Are you family?" the nurse asked, though it was obvious she didn't think that there was any way that two Italians were related to someone who was one-hundred percent of Japanese heritage.

Fran and Mukuro did a quick thought exchange and Mukuro said, "I'm his husband. And this boy here is our adopted child."

"Uh...," the nurse trailed off, feeling awkward, but Fran's vigorous head-nodding convinced her that a ridiculous lie wouldn't be made up like that, and she eventually said, "Okay... well... I suppose... if... you're family... He's in room A35. Go ahead."

Fran and Mukuro began towards Hibari's room, high-fiving each other. "My boy, you're mother will be very suprised, you've grown so much."

"Okay, mama, you can drop the act," Fran snickered. "Hibari's my father."

"'Mama'?" Mukuro repeated, "Not cool, Fran, I'm manlier than Kyo-"

"No, you aren't," Fran cut off, "Absolutely not."

They made it to room A35 and walked in without knocking. Hibari was asleep, but Mukuro went over to him anyway. He knelt by the bed and sighed softly, and Fran saw in that moment the truthful love that his mentor felt for the ex-prefect. Mukuro began to lean in, on the verge of capturing his lover in a kiss, when-

SLAP.

"Can't you tell when someone's sleeping?" Hibari snapped, sitting up and glaring at the illusionist. "How the hell did you get in here? I told them not to let anyone in."

Mukuro touched his cheek and backed off, hurt, and whispered, "I told the nurse we were family."

"How did she fall for that?" Hibari growled, still glaring.

"I said I was you're husband, Kyouya," Mukuro murmured, looking away.

"Husband? So now the whole hospital thinks I'm gay? What about Fran? What did you lie about there?"

"Adopted son," the blue-haired illusionist told him quietly.

"... Get out," Hibari snapped, "Get out now, Mukuro, Fran. Now."

Mukuro began to back up, but Fran stopped him. "But you were gonna tell him to-"

"Forget it, Fran," Mukuro whispered, his voice shaking. "Kyouya obviously isn't in the mood right now..."

With that, Mukuro walked away, but Fran lingered, looking back and forth from Hibari to the door.

"What are you waiting for, herbivore?" Hibari muttered.

"Why'd you do it?" Fran asked, walking over to the bed. "You did so much to stay with Mukuro, and yet-"

"I heard the news," Hibari spat. "I heard everything. Mukuro thinks that we're rivals, so I'm not about to let him toy with me. I can live without him."

"Skylark-san...," Fran sighed. "It's not what you think. We told Mukuro everything about you and him, and he was just starting to believe it. Hell, you heard that lie Mukuro came up with! Would he really go that far to see you if he thought that you hated him?"

"..." Hibari fell silent, and Fran's eyes widened when he saw a single tear roll down his cheek. "I already know that he doesn't love me like that," he whispered, "I already know it was all an act. You remember, don't you? Just before I left..."

"Do you WANT to believe that?" Fran asked, "Skylark-san, Mukuro really does love you. He just forgot, is all. When you were gone, he panicked. He ran around the Vongola base, searching for you. When he found out that you were on an assignment, he was pale and sad as a ghost! A living, breathing ghost! All because you weren't there!"

"..." Hibari clenched his fists and closed his eyes, looking frustrated. "I want to believe that," he whispered.

"Then don't hold back. Trust him," Fran replied, "Can't you do that?"

Hibari looked up at Fran, the tiniest smile playing on his lips. "Of course I can."

"That's a good bird. Now I'm going to go get Mukuro back, and you're going to say what you REALLY meant," Fran told him.

"Okay," Hibari replied, and Fran ran off.

"Master!" he called to the illusionist who was a bit too far ahead of him. "Stop!" Mukuro stopped, but he didn't turn around. Fran skidded to a stop beside him. "Master, I just talked to Hibari. He wants you to come back... Master?"

Fran blinked twice. Mukuro was blushing, his eyes were bloodshot, and tear tracks were present on his face. "Fran... go tell him I'll see him when he gets back from the hospital. I'm not going through something as humiliating as that all over again."

"H... humiliating?" Fran repeated.

"Yeah, Fran, humiliating. I can't just waltz back in there all cheerful like a puppy and get myself snapped at again."

"But... Master, I talked to him, I told him how you really feel-"

"What are you talking about?" Mukuro asked. "What did you say I felt for him?"

"Well, love, of course!" Fran said, "Don't you... love Hibari?"

"No, I don't," Mukuro hissed, "Hell, I HATE him. And you know what, Fran? I hate you, too. You played with my heartstrings and got me to believe that Hibari loved me, but there as no way, of course! That man and I have been rivals since middle school. And you know, I didn't raise you to pull these cruel, cruel pranks!"

A tear fell onto Mukuro's shirt only a second later, and Mukuro wiped at his eyes, embarassed. "Fran, you've made a huge mistake. I'm serious, you never should've messed up my relationship with Kyouya!"

"Master-" Fran began, but the illusionist had already begun to leave.

Fran felt a little hurt at his Master's harsh words. Really, what was that pineapple thinking?

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Woah, when I'm on a plane, I apparently feel like causing problems. :O Well, I DID say, plot development. MUAHAHA! Okay, so now I'm gonna do one of those random, long author notes things that are simply meant to recap a bit and be funny.<br>Fran: You introduce the purpose of this when you're done with two of six of the 'A Royal-' series?  
>Me: Yup. I felt like it!<br>Fran: Anyways, what's up with Master? Why is he so stubborn?  
>Me: 'Cause he's been yelled at by Hibari.<br>Hibari: Hey, I would so not act like that.  
>Me: I have to develop the plot.<br>Hibari: And my leg?  
>Me: Eh. Needed something to get you into the hospital.<br>Hibari: ...  
>Mukuro: Hey, wait a minute, I wouldn't cry!<br>Me: Chill, pineapple-hair, I made Hibari cry a bit too.  
>Hibari: You did WHAT? *rereads* I don't cry! Crying's for the weak!<br>Me: *ignores* Besides, Mukuro, crying is cute to me. Remember the scene in the anime where Gokudera cried? So cute~ Gokudera: Hey, not cool. I'm not even a main character in your fanfiction! You can't make fun of me unless you write about me more.  
>Me: Heh heh... I'm planning some nice fics for you and Tsuna, actually. In fact, I'm going to have a rather nice one that's onesided with you and Tsuna, and then have it transform into you and Yamamoto-<br>Gokudera: NO! I mean, sure... I kinda like the boss, but baseball idiot?  
>Me: *evil laughter*<br>Byakuran: Waaah! I wanna come back!  
>Me: *pats head and gives marshmallows*<br>Byakuran: ... *nom*  
>Mammon: Hey, you're making this too long. ... AND I DON'T WANNA BE A SUB-CHARACTER!<br>Me: Mammon, you played major roles in the past two stories. You're allowed to take a breath every now and again, yeah?  
>Alla Hobos: OMIGOSH STOP WRITING YOUR AUTHOR NOTES BEFORE THEY GET YOU REPORTED!<br>Me: Okay, fine! Please review so I can continue!  
>Mukuro, Hibari, and Fran: CAUSE IF YOU DON'T, YOU'LL BE BITTEN TO DEATH!<br>Bel: Hey, they left me out. No fair!  
>Me: Heh heh... sorry Bel.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15: Alla Hobos Need Sleep

A Royal Spring Chapter Fifteen

HAI PEOPLES! *tosses cookies to everyone who reviewed the last chapter* Are some of you getting lazy on the reviewing? I told you, I run on reviews, no matter whether I'm in school or on break! Honestly... let's see, who reviewed the last chapter...  
>RadioBrain Walker ... Hey wait a minute... there was only one reviewer for that chapter? -.-<br>THANK YOU RADIOBRAIN WALKER! *gives happy face cookie* XD Sorry, I guess that's not much. But really now! Thank you~ Now mayhaps the rest of you are all busy for some reason... that I can understand...  
>*flashback*<br>"(my name here)! Your dinner is getting cold!"  
>"Sorry, mom, I can't get off mah laptop! I'm rewatching the Katekyo Hitman Reborn finale!"<br>"Oh, and (my kouhai's name here) is calling! Pick up the phone!"  
>"But mom, Byakuran-"<br>"I don't care! Pause it!"  
>"NOOOO I CAN'T! *whispering* Yeah, kill him, Tsuna!"<br>"Don't you have a huge history project due tomorrow?"  
>"... Ugh... well thanks a lot (my history teacher's name here)."<br>*end flashback*  
>Heh heh... okay, probably not whatever keeps you other people busy. Oh yeaaah, this isn't mah profile, it's the next chapter! Sorry peoples!<p>

* * *

><p>Fran walked back into the Vongola base and suddenly paused. He reached both arms up and felt his head. He had a momentary panic attack upon not feeling his frog hat, but he quickly recalled that Belphegor was with the girls adding onto it.<p>

'Oh, I could SO use a dose of prince right now,' Fran thought, starting to walk in the direction of room B26. Along the way, he saw Mukuro, apparently passed out on the ground. '... Dammit.'

Fran knelt besides his mentor. "Yo, Master, what's the matter with- ... oh." The kouhai saw an empty bottle in Mukuro's hand and sighed, coming up with a few scenarios.

Scenario One: Mukuro is walking and drinking at the same time, but he's already totally intoxicated, so he passes out.

Scenario Two: Mukuro is walking and drinking at the same time, but he's already totally intoxicated, so he falls over and hits his head on the wall and passes out.

Scenario Three: Mukuro is walking and drinking at the same time, but he's already totally intoxicated, so he lies down and passes out peacefully.

Scenario Four: Mukuro is walking and drinking at the same time, but he's already totally intoxicated, so when someone hits him, he falls over and passes out.

Scenario Five: Mukuro lost a bet.

Fran mulled it over for a bit. 'Who the hell was the wise guy who gave ALCHOHOL to a powerful illusionist?'

"Nng," Mukuro grumbled in his sleep, unconciously clutching the neck of the bottle. Fran sighed and patted his master on the shoulder.

"Get up, Master, it's not a good idea to sleep in a place where a gaylord or fish-face could find you," he said quietly.

Mukuro made another incoherent discomfort noise and rolled over. "My head hurts," he protested.

"Okay, so either you hit your head on something, got hit with something, or that was one damn fast hangover," Fran thought aloud.

"What are you talking about... nn.. who's there...," Mukuro mumbled, opening a sleepy blue eye to glance at Fran. "Chikusa? No... your hair's too blue-green-ish... Kikyo? Oh, no, you're probably not here..."

"Try Fran," Fran muttered.

"Fran...? Oh, Fran!" Mukuro said, sitting up. He clutched his head. "Gah, what happened?" he growled. "Did someone bash me with a heavy, blunt object?"

"I dunno," Fran said, "it's either that or you have a hangover~"

"Fran, how many times have I told you... I don't drink."

"You TELL me that all the time," the illusionist's apprentice remarked, "but Master, it's pretty obvious that you do, because you have a bottle of some random alchoholic drink in your hand. ... Hey, wait a minute... where'd you get this?"

"What do you mean, where'd I get it?" Mukuro snorted, looking at the bottle with an annoyed face. "... I think Xanxus gave it to me. Why?"

"Ah, that explains it. Boss drinks that stuff all the time. ... Wait a second... that's impossible," Fran suddenly realized.

"What's impossible?" Mukuro sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"You actually used the word 'Xanxus' and the word 'gave' in the same sentence. That's impossible," the kouhai proclaimed. His joke hit the ground; the pineapple was not amused.

"Fran, stop cracking jokes and help me up already," Mukuro hissed.

"Aw man, way to kill my joy," Fran snorted, though he obediently helped his mentor get back on his feet.

"Sorry, Fran, I'm obviously not in the mood," the older illusionist sighed. "Help me back to my room."

"Aww, and now I have to help you all the way to your room?" Fran wailed in monotone.

"Please lower your voice," Mukuro grunted, "you're only making my headache worse."

"I'm sorry Master! I feel like being loud right now!" Fran deadpanned in an obnoxiously loud voice.

"! SHADDUP, WOULD YOU? XANXUS IS ASLEEP!" Squalo screamed, walking out of his room and rubbing his eyes tiredly. Fran was quick to jump at the chance to fail at disguising the word 'hypocrite' in a cough.

"I am so bringing that back," he said after doing so.

"No, you aren't," Mukuro spat, "it's pointless."

"It has a point," Fran argued. "The point is to call someone a hypocrite."

"VOI! I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!" Squalo shouted, flailing his sword.

"Oi, scum, you wanna die?" a rough voice came from the room Squalo had left. Squalo froze, his eyes bulging slightly. He glanced back to the room, then put a finger over his lips to Fran and Mukuro, and slipped back inside.

"What a fish-face," Fran muttered, starting to drag Mukuro down the halls. Somewhere behind the door, the words 'gay tadpole-mother' could be heard, but Fran passed it over for lack of coolness.

"Fran," Mukuro spoke, his arm around the shorter man's shoulders to try and support himself. "Could you forgive me for what I said earlier?"

"I already know you didn't mean it, entirely," Fran whispered, "I mean, come on. If you hated me, you could've gotten rid of me any time. And about Hibari... well... he understands."

Mukuro looked at Fran. His apprentice's face was unusually serious, and his eyes were fixed in a sort of determined stare. "Why do you care so much about making this joke go on?" Mukuro asked.

"It isn't a joke, pineapple brains," Fran snickered, "I wouldn't bother to go to that much trouble for a joke."

"... Fran, I-"

"We're at your room," Fran cut off, pushing the older illusionist towards the door to his room. "I need a little Belphegor, so I'll see you later."

With that, the teal-haired illusionist walked away, leaving Mukuro along with his unfinished sentence. Fran came up to his room and smiled at the door, realizing just how much he needed that bit of Belphegor. He walked in with a quiet 'pardon me' and smiled when he saw the prince already asleep on the bed. He walked over and began to pet the prince's head, taking his frog hat and putting it on. It was slightly heavier than usual, but the kouhai didn't mind.

Belphegor yawned tiredly and reached a hand up to rub his eyes, which gave Fran an opportunity to 'aww' silently. "Froggy? Is that you?"

"And is that my prince?" Fran returned, leaning in and kissing his senpai happily.

Belphegor grinned when his kouhai backed off. "You're in a good mood," he commented, his blood red eyes visible beneath his bangs.

"You bet I am," Fran laughed lightly, "It's because I'm with you."

"So... romantic...," Belphegor breathed, sitting up and looking into Fran's eyes. 'Why is he able to make me feel so happy just by making one tiny remark?' the prince wondered, pulling his frog onto the bed with him.

"Heh, senpaaai," Fran whined, "the frog hat got heavier. What did you do? Glue a rock on top of it?"

"Oh, you didn't see, Froggy?" Belphegor whispered, blushing and looking away. Fran, confused, took off the hat and looked at it. First of all, the prince had changed the purple irides of the hat the same color as Fran's eyes, but more importantly, he had sewed a tiara to the top of the hat. Fran blushed deeply, looking back at the prince.

"Senpaaaai?" he questioned. "What's all this about?"

"You're a prince like me, Froggy," Bel whispered, "so you get a crown."

Fran was, for once, unable to contain his sheer pleasure at the prince's words, and he turned his senpai around and kissed him once more, finally allowing tongue.

And, well, let's just say that they had a particularly good night.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Heh, I finally did something like that again...<br>Fran: ?  
>Bel: ?<br>Me: I know... it was pretty suttle. But whatever, it counts. NOW REVIEW! Please... the lack of motivation will take it's toll on the story. it's not a threat! It's the truth! DX Hibari: Here, let me handle this. REVIEW OR BE BITTEN TO DEATH! We want to start A Royal Summer!


	16. Chapter 16: Alla Hobos' Problems End

Waah! I got bombarded with reviews after my whining in the last chapter! Okay, so from now on, I'll whine whenever you stop reviewing! XD Just kidding (sort of), anyways, my inspiration is back at its peak for at least this and the next chapter (which does NOT mean don't review this chapter), so I'ma do my best!  
>Fran: Hey, you're too excited. You forgot the title and chapter number.<br>Me: Omigosh, you're right!

A ROYAL SPRING CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hey, that kinda rhymes!  
>Fran: It doesn't matter. Now go, write a long, reviewer-rewarding chapter!<br>Me: Hai~ And I'm sorry, btw, I've been busy this weekend, but I'm trying to write it all today! (3 July)

* * *

><p>Vongola Headquarters. Morning...<p>

BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-

Fran smacked the alarm clock as he rolled over, successfully turning it off. "Ugh... I can't get up...," he sighed. He glanced over at Belphegor. The prince was still asleep, and he had a firm hold on Fran's waist. "Well it's nice to know I'm appreciated," Fran sighed, backing up into Bel's embrace. He took hold of the prince's arms and held them close to his chest, and closed his eyes.

...

"Vrrraaaaaiiiii! What the hell? I don't need YOU telling me to wake up, brat! That's damned annoying you know, I was OBVIOUSLY enjoying a full sleep."

"I don't care. If you want to get back to our Varia headquarters, you'll get your ass out of bed AND GET TO THE KITCHEN."

"Gosh, Mammon... did you wake up with Lussuria hovering over you? You seem awfully grouchy..."  
>"GO."<p>

"No need to talk to me in that tone... brat."

Fran woke up softly at the voices, but he was soon roughly awakened by the loud sound of tentacles beating the door. He sat up just as a loud voice shouted, "HEY FRAN! GET OUT OF BED NOW! SQUALO AND YOU ARE A HALF HOUR LATE! YOU SHOULD HAVE BREAKFAST DONE BY NOW!"

Fran glanced at the clock. Indeed, it was already past nine. The kouhai's gaze returned to the prince and he blushed, then looked away, shy of even the sleeping face of the prince. He looked back, his blush maintained, and he leaned in, gave Bel a soft kiss on the cheek, then got out of bed carefully so as not to wake his royal lover. The illusionist got dressed in his 'work clothes' and answered the door.

"Is this room service? I ordered breakfast an hour ago, so you really should work on that delivery speed-"  
>"GET OUT AND GO MAKE BREAKFAST, YOU BRAT!" Mammon screamed, silently threatening Fran with nearby tentacles. The kouhai put his arms up in defense.<p>

"Careful, you'll wake the prince," Fran protested, then caught an incoming tentacle. "Chill your pineapples, Mammon, I'm going right now."

Fran closed the door behind him and began walking down the hall, leaving an un-chilled Arcobaleno behind him.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Mukuro had gotten up two hours before the maids and gone to the hospital to fix things himself. (AN: Okay, so this is basically to hours earlier for those who didn't catch that.)

"I'm sorry, sir, Hibari Kyoya isn't seeing anyone right now-"

"A35, right? Thanks," Mukuro said, before walking away at a brisk pace. As he strode down the hall, he thought,  
>'What the hell am I doing? I'm going to go make a fool of myself again. Really, I hate emotions. And that FRAN! Who does he think he is, talking to me like he's better than me...! Honestly...'<p>

Mukuro opened the door to A35 and stepped in silently, then closed the door behind him. He walked over to the sleeping ex-prefect, and leaned over, looking at the man's face. He carefully brushed a dark, black bang away from his lovers lidded eyes, then softly touched his shoulder.

"Kyouya," he whispered gently against the sleeping Cloud's ear. "I love you."

That was definitely enough to awaken the Japanese. Hibari's eyes opened, revealing the metallic gray eyes that the illusionist had always thought to be as valuable as jewels. "Rokudo...?" he whispered, those eyes swerving to gaze into the mismatched eyes of the illusionist.

"I'm right here, Kyouya," Mukuro murmured, before dragging his lover into his gentle embrace. "I love you. I really do."

"Rokudo...," Hibari murmured, before returning the embrace, to Mukuro's suprise.

'What?' Mukuro thought, 'Uh... Kyouya, isn't this the part where you smack me with a tonfa and ask what the hell is wrong with me?'

"I love you, too."

"Kyouya..."

* * *

><p>Fran walked into the kitchen to be met with the scene of Squalo chopping up fish like a madman while drawing out a continuous 'voooi'. He even looked like he was on fire. Fran walked over and tapped the shark on the shoulder, which had no effect.<p>

'Huh. Scronto di Squalo?'

Fran looked at his waist, where he had the box weapon that he didn't use very often. He held it right next to Squalo's head and punched flames into it, causing a mini puppet Belphegor to bounce out and hit Squalo's head. The mini Belphegor took hold of Squalo's head and ranted in some foreign language, which finally got the shark's attention.

"Get that thing off of me, Fran," he growled. Fran pushed his mini senpai back into his box, even though it protested and threw tiny knives at him. Once the box weapon was put away, Fran went over to the refrigerator.

"So who got your fish in a knot?" he asked in a deadpan voice.

"Mammon," Squalo replied simply. "For once in my life, I was enjoying a peaceful moment sleeping in Xanxus's arms, and he just HAD to ruin it."

"He's homesick," Fran murmured, trying to decide on what he'd contribute to breakfast, "and not having money is like life without his pacifier. He just wants to go home."

"He's being a brat," Squalo muttered.

"What, are all us illusionists brats?" the younger illusionist muttered, finally deciding to go with rice.

"No. Just you and Mammon. Bel's a brat too. And the Vongola."

"I beg your pardon?" Tsunayoshi questioned, stepping into the kitchen. "What about the Vongola?"

"He was calling you a brat, sir," Fran reported, saluting with a frying pan.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOI! FRAN, YOU BRAT!"

"Over-usage of 'brat'," Fran snickered, before he looked back to the Vongola. "So what's up, boss?"

"Ah, I was wondering if you'd managed to finish up, but you look like you just got here. I heard you two overslept, so I understand," the boss sighed. "Anyway, Fran, did you tell Mukuro about the..."

"Yessir, but he got stubborn, said some mean things, and then he got drunk. I found him asleep on the ground."

"Hm. Well he's not in his room. I went to ask about how things went, but he wasn't there."

"Respectively, sir, I'm not a detective," Fran mumbled, turning around to work on fried rice.

"I know that...," the Vongola breathed, "I just wondered if you knew anything."

"Not a thing," Fran mumbled, "but, seeing as he brags about his 'masculinity', that doesn't exist, I figure he didn't run away."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Huh...? I should?"

"Kyouya, the sooner your leg gets fixed, the sooner we'll be able to spend all of our time with each other again," Mukuro reasoned, "If Sasagawa treats you, you'll be able to come home very soon."

Hibari blushed lightly, then looked down. "I suppose you're right... Very well. When will he be able to come over?"

"Actually, Kyouya, I was hoping I could get you out of here myself. We can heal you back at the base. You've got crutches, and if you don't want to bother with those, you've got me."

Hibari's eyes lit up when he heard that Mukuro wanted to spend time with him. That Mukuro wanted his leg to heal. That he wanted to help him. Smiling, Hibari whispered the one word that meant the most to him.

"Rokudo..."

* * *

><p>"Fran, set this on the table," Squalo said, handing Fran a tray with the usual fried fish. Fran sighed and set it on the table, before adding his own dish beside it.<p>

"Hey, long-haired commander, it must be fried food day," Fran mumbled. "Why didn't we do eggs?"

"Doesn't matter. We need to set up the plates and chopsticks, so hurry up."

"Okay..."

* * *

><p>Mukuro helped his lover stand, and supported his left side before handing the prefect crutches. Hibari used them only because it was the illusionist who handed them over, and gazed back at Mukuro when both of the crutches were in place.<p>

"Hey... Rokudo," he whispered. "Yes, Kyouya?"

"What exactly caused you to forget?"

"Oh... I'm told Xanxus had a mishap with his aim and smashed the back of my skull with a wine glass."  
>"Is that so? Well, I'll have to bite him for that."<p>

"Oh, no, Kyouya, the only person you're going to be biting today is ME."

Hibari smirked. "That's better." With that, he leaned up and kissed Mukuro, closing his eyes to enjoy the few seconds of lip contact.

* * *

><p>"A~ah, good morning, Fran, Squalo," greeted Yamamoto, "Gokudera and I are back from our assignment."<p>

"Well, I hope you like fried stuff," Fran replied as a bad excuse for a greeting.

"Ooh, do you have fried eggs?" Yamamoto asked.

"I told you so, fish-face," Fran muttered to Squalo.

"No, we didn't make fried eggs," Squalo replied to Yamamoto, before glaring at Fran. "Vooi, GAY tadpole-mother, go get a couple more chairs for the two returning brats."

"Okay, gay fish-face."

"Ahaha! Looks like you two are really bonding through this whole maid thing," Yamamoto laughed, a goofy smile on his face. He continued to laugh as Fran and Squalo stared at him awkwardly, both thinking what made the baseball player decide on that.

"Hey, what are we eating today?" Lambo asked quietly, walking into the room.

"We've got fried rice and fried fish," Fran replied, "Why do you look so pale? Did ya get attacked by Levi?"

"Yeah, actually... I did," Lambo confessed, "but that guy with the shaved head saved me."

"Lussuria saved you?" asked Squalo loudly, "I wonder what the hell got into him!"

"Probably his mother's instincts," Fran remarked.

Everyone in the room shuddered, except for Yamamoto, who just laughed at the 'good joke'.

"HEYYYY! I'M EXTREMELY READY FOR AN EXTREME BREAKFAST WITH LUSSURIA! WHO'S WITH ME?" roaredRyohei, making a dramatic entrance into the kitchen, holding Lussuria by the arm.

"Speak of the devil," Fran muttered, "And no, Lussuria eats OUTSIDE. No pets at the table."

There was an awkward pause that Yamamoto ruined by laughing.

"Ah, there's a couple of Sun's blocking the prince's entrance. Froggy! I require assistance!"

"Omigod, senpai said the word 'I'. It's the end of the world!" Fran called out. "Ryohei, Lussuria, you're blocking the prince's entrance."

"Hey! I EXTREMELY think that's EXTREMELY uncool! Why is poor Lussuria excluded from the most social part of human life?"

"Because he went and made us hobos, now move, shishishi," Belphegor replied, finally stepping forward and pushing the couple out of the kitchen. Fran smiled when he saw the prince, and Bel grinned in return.

"Hello, prince," Fran greeted.

"Hello, prince," Bel echoed, "oh, sorry, I meant Froggy."

"Tch," Fran snorted, "You got my hopes up."

Bel giggled and leaned in, giving his kouhai a soft kiss on the cheek before going to take his seat at the table. Fran smiled, taking the seat beside Belphegor, and soon, Lambo, Squalo and Yamamoto, too, had sat down. Gokudera came in with his boss just a few moments later, and soon everyone was gathered around the table. Tsunayoshi alerted the Varia to the 'one more month' deal, which earned a lot of whining from Fran and Squalo, while Belphegor cheered about 'being a hobo for another month'.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Everyone looked towards the door for an awkward moment, before Fran shouted out, "It's not locked, you know!" The door opened, revealing Mukuro and Hibari, both of them smiling.

"Sorry," said Mukuro, "are we late for breakfast?"

There was another pause.

"Dammit, now there's ANOTHER mouth to feed!" Squalo screamed, frustrated.

Mukuro and Hibari both chuckled, and everyone was a little suprised to see Hibari walk perfectly on his own. "Hibari-san, your leg is healed?" the Vongola boss asked him. Hibari nodded.

"Yes, there were two Suns outside," he replied, "all we did was ask them."

"Eew, you let the gaylord heal you?" Fran asked, wincing.

"It doubled the Sun flames' speed," Hibari replied, "and I was looking at Mukuro the entire time, so nothing felt wierd at all."

"Aww, Kyouya," Mukuro hummed, embracing his lover, "you're so sweet."

"So you've resolved all of your problems?" asked Belphegor, his cheeks filled with rice.

"Chipmunk," Fran snickered quietly, poking the prince's cheek. Belphegor glared at him, but not seriously.

"Don't poke the prince," he muttered.

"We never had any problems," Hibari replied curtly, "We've always loved each other more than life itself. Right, Mukuro?"

"Uh... yeah?" Mukuro answered, though he was obviously uncertain. Hibari smacked him on the back of the head.

"Right?"

"Yes! Definitely! We love each other very much!" Mukuro said quickly, shielding himself with his arms.

"Thank you," Hibari backed down, calm once again.

"Mm, looks like this is all wrapping up," Fran mumbled so that no one could really hear, "What to do for the next month? There won't be any problems to solve... right?"

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Take it from Fran, there won't be any problems to solve! Get ready for two chapters that are meant to make you laugh! And after that, we'll get right back into the series as 'A Royal Summer'!<br>Please review! *showers with petals and cookies*  
>Fran: You sound like you're ending it.<br>Me: But I'm not.  
>Bel: She's ending the plot for this, though!<br>Me: But I'm not! Mukuro and Hibari were a subplot. Lussuria ruining everything was the plot.  
>Bel: Hm? Then what are you gonna do?<br>Me: ... Kufufufufu...  
>Mukuro: Hey! Don't steal my line.<br>Me: Sorry. XD Review!  
>Hibari: But I can't bite them to death if I have no plot purpose.<br>Me: *sigh*


	17. Chapter 17: Alla Hobos Are Uncool

A Royal Spring Chapter Seventeen

Hey, peoples! X) Okay, once again, there's no plot in these next two chapters, they're meant to experiment and be funny... Also, I'd like to thank Lynne-chann for her suggestion in her review for chapter eighteen of A Royal Winter; after all, my idea for these chapters are somewhat based on that idea. ;)

* * *

><p>Vongola Headquarters, Same day that left off, 3:00 PM<p>

"You wanted to see me, boss?" Fran said, peeking into Squalo and Xanxus's room. Luckily for him, Squalo wasn't there to 'keep the boss entertained,' so he could enter without interrupting anything.

"Yes, scum, I called you," growled Xanxus, sitting on the bed.

'Wow, boss can look badass even when he's on a bed,' Fran thought, 'what a show-off.'

"Come here," called the boss, looking up.

"I'm sorry, boss, but your eyes are really scary, and they paralyzed me on the spot," Fran remarked, giving his own boss a blank face.

"Trash," hissed the Sky, grabbing a beer bottle from the nightstand, ready to smash the Mist's head with it anytime.

"Okay, fine, I'm 'coming over there'," Fran muttered, sitting down on the bed, but at a somewhat safe distance from Xanxus. "What's up?"

"I want your judgement on something," the boss said, taking a drink from his previous weapon.

"M-me?" Fran repeated, pointing at himself, "Aren't I the 'useless Mist brat'? Why me?" Fran was so uncertain because he knew what happened to those who didn't agree with the boss. It wasn't pretty.

"Yes, brat, you," Xanxus said, looking up at the Mist. Fran practically turned into stone at the boss's eyes. "Listen. Tsunayoshi says that he won't be able to stand having us over for another whole month. He says that he'll get us on a ten-day cruise after two more weeks here. Do you think that's okay?"

"I r-really think you should be discussing this with Squalo," Fran mumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

"Can't," grumbled the boss, "I've got a headache. If I talk to Squalo, he'll just scream about it."

"I see...," the illusionist whispered, "Well... a cruise is nice, if you have a bunch of people that you know... 'cause if you don't, you just picked on. That's what happens to me, at least. Honestly, I'm twenty-four now, and just a couple years ago, they were all 'You're underage, so you absolutely cannot purchase alchohol!' 'I'm twenty two you idiots!' 'Hey, you better behave, or we'll throw you overboard.'"

Xanxus watched as Fran performed his mini-drama, ending up curled up in a ball. "Okay, that's great," he muttered, "So should we go or not?"

"Oh, yeah," Fran realized, uncurling, "We we're deciding that, weren't we? Sorry, boss. Alright, uh... do I look more adult-ish now?"

"You mean as though you're at least twenty-one? Nope. You look like a teenaged little girl. But that's good, because I can tell just from glancing at you that your tolerance is at rock bottom anyway," Xanxus told him. Fran sighed and mumbled,  
>"Stupid boss, ruining my confidence..."<p>

"You chose to interpret it like that," Xanxus muttered. "I was being honest."

"Well don't be honest next time," Fran suggested.

"Okay, you look like you're in your fortys and you've been drinking so much that all your teeth have fallen out," Xanxus muttered.

"Hey, lying is good, but don't make my character overlap with yours, old man," Fran snapped, instantly regretting it when an alchohol bottle was smashed on the side of head. "Eew...," the illusionist protested, shaking himself off and holding the side of his face. "You could have broke my neck you know..."

"You're wearing that stupid hat, and it wouldn't have any effect if I hit the hat."

"Great. Thanks, boss," Fran said sarcastically. "Okay, because I really wanna leave now, I'll say that the cruise sounds fun. Let's go on a cruise. That would be great. Especially if it's big enough for me to stay away from you and your fish-faced lover."

"VOI! IS FRAN IN THERE?" screamed Squalo, kicking the door open.

"Wow, good Bel impersonation, long-haired commander," Fran cheered, "You need to work on the ushishi though, it's not pronounced 'voi'."

"VOOOOI! WHY ARE YOU HERE, BRAT?" raged the shark.

"Because boss has a killer headache and he doesn't wanna see your face," Fran deadpanned, covering his ears, "Well, boss, you have my answer, can I leave? Pretty please?"

"Yeah, get outta here, you brat."

"Man, I'm still just a brat," pouted Fran, taking glass shards out of his hair as he made way towards the door. Once he'd gotten over to where Squalo was, he took the glass shards and put them in the swordsman's hair. "The 'smashed with a beer bottle' look suits you, not me," he said before leaving. Squalo could be heard screaming behind him.

Fran walked back to his room, thinking about how it would be to go on a cruise. 'It would be nice for Bel and I... usually the ships are big enough for us to get away from our teammates... it would be like a small vacation with just me and Bel-senpai...' The idea made Fran's heart race with excitement. 'Just me and the prince.'

"Froggy? What are you doing?" Bel asked, "Did you get distracted by a fantasy about the prince?"

"Wha- No! Of course not! D-don't think that highly of yourself!" Fran said quickly, blushing at being caught.

Bel grinned, "Oh, yes, of course, Froggy wouldn't bother around with thinking about me, would he?"

"Of course not!" Fran agreed, before the reverse method made him give in. "Okay, so I was thinking about spending some alone time with you... and how great it would be to be alone with you... senpai..."

"You collapse too easily," Bel snickered, embracing the younger man, "You better start keeping secrets from me, 'cause that way things will be more exciting."

"I'm not exciting enough?" Fran deadpanned, glaring at the prince. "So you'd be more excited if I secretly dated Master?"  
>"Ah- No!" Bel said, regretting what he'd said, "Absolutely not! Nevermind what I said, don't ever keep a secret from the prince."<p>

"But senpaaaai," Fran complained, "I didn't want you to find out that I love you enough to die for you!"

Bel's blood-red eyes widened with suprise, and he cupped Fran's head in his hands. "I'd do the same, Fran...," he breathed, before coming in and kissing the illusionist.

Fran wrapped his arms around the prince's neck. It was probably a bluff, but it was comforting nonetheless.

* * *

><p>"Kyouya, wake up," Mukuro sighed, "I think you've had enough of a nap."<p>

"No I haven't...," Hibari mumbled, tugging on the illusionist's arm, "You need to sleep more, too."

"No, I don't," the Mist sighed, "Come on, we can't sleep until dinner. Is there anything else you want to do? Go on a date? Shower together?"

"... A shower sounds nice...," the ex-prefect said quietly, "carry me?"

"Come on, Kyouya, you're a fully grown man, you can walk to the bathroom," Mukuro snapped. "Just because I was mistreating you before doesn't mean I owe you!"

"Yeah it does...," the Cloud protested, "I love you... I love you, Mukuro."

The illusionist blushed lightly. "D-don't try to bribe me like that!" he complained, "Kyouya!"

Hibari sat up and hugged Mukuro tightly, pulling him onto the bed. The Cloud's lips brushed against the illusionist's as he whispered, "I love you so much, Mukuro."

Mukuro's face had turned a deep red at that point, his mismatched eyes wide as he gazed into Hibari's. He wanted to let out a breath that he'd been holding, but he didn't, since Hibari's face was so close. As though the ex-prefect had stolen his breath away.

The next day...

"Fran...," breathed Bel in his sleep. The illusionist instantly woke up when his name was said, even though it was just a whisper. The Mist looked up at the prince and smiled.

'Hah, what would you do without me?' Fran thought happily, reaching a hand up and stroking the Storm's silky, blonde hair, his eyes soft. Bel's eyelids twitched and he gave a small groan of protest, and the younger man smiled to see the tiny reaction. 'Then again, what would I do without you? ... I'd probably be fine if I hadn't met you, but now that I know you... now that I have you...'

'I can't let you go.'

Bel's eyes opened slowly, and he moved to take Fran's hand off of him. "You're poking the prince," he protested.

"No I'm not," Fran denied, "I'm petting the prince. Huge difference."

Bel gave a small, half-hearted 'ushishi,' then came in and kissed Fran softly, wrapping an arm around the younger man's waist. "I love you, Fran."

"I love you too, Bel-senpai."

They gazed into each other's eyes, sharing a typical romantic moment, when it was suddenly interrupted in a typical way.

"FRAN! DAMMIT, DID YOU OVERSLEEP AGAIN?"

The couple sighed, and Fran got up. "Mammon! You just interrupted Bel and my time together!"

"I DON'T CARE!" the Arcobaleno raged.

"What a jerk," Fran sighed. He looked at the prince and jabbed a thumb at the door. "You used to love that guy?"

"I was a crazy teenager," Bel excused himself.

"You still are!" Fran argued, taking off his shirt to get dressed in the maid outfit. "Anyway, boss says we're going on a cruise in a couple weeks."

"Where?" the Storm asked.

"Probably the Mediterranean," Fran replied.

"That's the sea by Italy, right?" Bel questioned. The illusionist looked at the prince as though he'd been asked if teal was his real hair color (which Bel, of all people, should know).

"Yes, senpai, it is," he answered. "Are you alright...?"

"Hey, I was up at 2:00 AM last night, I'm tired!" Bel complained, before rubbing at his eyes to get his point across.

"Why the hell were you up so late? And why didn't I know this?" Fran asked, incredulous. Bel made a 'whoops, I let it slip' face.

"Uhm..."

"What were you doing, senpai?" the Mist repeated.

"... I killed one or two people...," Bel mumbled, looking away.

"How many?" Fran asked, walking over to Bel and making himself eye level. The prince looked like he'd been caught eating the last cookie.

"... Twelve."

Fran groaned loudly. "We're gonna be killed!" he protested.

"YEAH, YOU ARE! UNLESS YOU HURRY UP!" Mammon shouted from behind the door.

'Oh, I forgot about him,' Fran thought, before shouting back, "I'm in my underwear, so wait a second!"

"GREAT TO KNOW!"

"Sheesh, he's louder than long-haired commander lately," Fran commented, putting on the maid dress. "Senpai, tell boss- kid boss, not middle-aged boss- what you did, and hope he goes easy on you with punishment."

"Wait, which boss...?" Bel asked, not knowing of any boss he had that was a kid, or middle-aged.

"Sawada! If you told Xanxus, he'd skin you. And, sorry, but I'd prefer that doesn't happen."

"Okay," Bel agreed, looking down and taking a knife from the nightstand. "Sorry, Froggy, the prince got really stressed over the idea of..."

"... Of what? Senpai?"

"... Living without you."

Fran blinked a couple times. "Why would you be afraid of that? Senpai, I'm not gonna leave you or anything like that..."

"But you said you'd die for the prince. That would leave the prince alone," Bel murmured, looking up at Fran.

The illusionist looked away, not sure what to say. "Senpai... that was... uh... w-well, I want you to keep being happy even if I die... senpai..."

"But I won't be happy," Bel whispered, "I'll be sad if Froggy dies... I don't want Froggy to be gone."

"Senpai, please, I'm not gonna die," Fran insisted, leaning in and kissing Bel. 'Though, if Bel died, I'd be really sad, too,' the illusionist thought.

"HEY! FRAN, ARE YOU DRESSED OR WHAT?" shouted Mammon.

"I am!" Fran called back, but he looked back at Bel with worry. "Senpai, please, don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you. Not now, not ever. Okay?"

"... Okay," Bel agreed, before embracing the illusionist. "You promise?"

"I promise," Fran assured. "Stop worrying about me. I mean, all I'm doing is going to cook breakfast. Nothing bad could happen."

"Okay, Froggy, if you say so," Bel agreed, releasing his kouhai, "... Is the prince's behavior uncool?"

"Very," Fran confirmed, taking a step back. "I'll let it slide today, but please, try to be cool from now on. 'Kay?"

"Okay."

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Woo! Cruise in the next chapter!<br>Fran: You make us seem too lovey-dovey. That's unrealistic.  
>Me: Fran, Yaoi is all about rainbows, flowers, and teddy bears. Of course it's unrealistic. (Hasn't he seen Junjou Romantica...?)<br>Fran: *sigh*  
>Bel: I wouldn't worry about Froggy dying. After all, we're assassins. We kill people carefully.<br>Me: Yeah, sure. Stabbing people is real careful.  
>Bel: I Have an awesome strategy and you know it, commoner!<br>Me: Yeah, yeah, whatever. Yo, Byakuran! You're gonna get fat if you keep eating all those marshmallows you know!  
>Byakuran: Oh, don't worry about me. *noms on marshmallow* All of my attempts to destroy the world keep me in shape.<br>Me: Of course they do.  
>Squalo: ! HOW ABOUT SOME REVIEWS?<br>Me: *suddenly has earmuffs on* Oh, hey, Squalo, I think that's the first line you've ever said in this section of the fanfiction!  
>Squalo: YEAH, CAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS WORTHLESS!<br>Me: Hey...  
>Xanxus: Ugh... shut up, I have a headache.<br>Me: Here, take a pill.  
>Xanxus: -.-<br>Mukuro: Hey, everyone!  
>Alla Hobos: What?<br>Mukuro: ... I don't know. I felt like getting attention.  
>Fran: Wow, Master...<br>Alla Vongola: NOOOO WE'LL GET REPORTED! THIS IS TOO LONG!  
>Me: Fine... I'll stop.<br>Hibari: REVIEW OR BE BITTEN TO DEATH!


	18. Chapter 18: Alla us are Hobos No Longer

A Royal Spring Chapter Eighteen

It's the last chapter of Spring!  
>Fran: Good. Because we're already in summer.<br>Me: Well whatever. Oh, I get to post a note this time.  
>Fran: Not that exciting.<p>

NOTICE: I WILL BE GONE FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE DAYS BECAUSE I HAVE TO GO TO SEE A RELATIVE'S WEDDING IN ANOTHER STATE... SO YEAH, AND I (PROBABLY) WON'T HAVE INTERNET. ... I'LL BE WRITING AS OFTEN AS I CAN, THOUGH, SO I MIGHT UPLOAD A COUPLE TIMES WHEN I RETURN. :)

Fran: Way to abuse the SHIFT key.  
>Me: I used CAPS LOCK, actually. XD Fran: You know, no one will care. It's just five days.<br>Me: They will too care!  
>Fran: *eye roll*<br>Me: So mean...  
>Fran: Hurry up and end this thing, I wanna leave.<br>Me: Fine! Be that way!

* * *

><p>Two Weeks Later...<p>

"Thanks for the ride, Master," Fran said, hopping out of the helicopter.

"I was ordered," Mukuro sighed as the other Varia left.

"Well thanks anyway," Fran muttered. Irie Shoichi and Spanner turned to see the Varia, both of them suprised.

"Hey! We said a month, not two weeks," Spanner said.

"We're on vacation," the Varia's Mist told them as Mukuro started up the helicopter to return to Japan.

"Well don't hang around here too long," the former Black Spell mumbled, turning back to his work.

"Shishishi~ Froggy, when does do we get to go on the cruise ship?" Bel asked, tugging on Fran's sleeve.

"I dunno, probably in an hour or so."

... An hour later!

"Oh, sorry, I misjudged, one hour left."

... Another hour later!

"Okay we're good," Fran said, "We... should probably stop standing here and leave."

"VOI! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Squalo raged.

"Just a transition. Come on, we're leaving now," the Mist told him.

"Shishishi! Everyone follow the Froggy!" Bel said, putting his hands on Fran's shoulders and following. Fran stopped. Bel stopped.

"Senpai, what the hell are you doing?" the illusionist asked, looking over his shoulder at the prince.

"Following the Froggy."

"Why?" Fran questioned as the other Varia began to walk past them.

"'Cause I felt like it," Bel giggled, before hugging his kouhai. "We're back home~"

"Not yet we aren't," Fran muttered, "The base isn't built yet. We're just back in Italy."

"Yay!" Bel cheered. Fran suddenly realized that the other Varia were leaving and brushed the prince off of him.

After boarding...

"Dude. This place looks like the inside of a mansion," Fran said when they walked in.

"Okay, we've got three cabins for our seven members," Xanxus said, "There should be one bed per cabin."

"Froggy and I get one!" Bel announced, clutching Fran close to his chest, ignoring the younger man's continuous whines of 'senpaaaai'.

"Boss and I get another one," Squalo claimed. Lussuria, Levi, and Mammon looked up at each other, then at the other four members.

"Are you saying you're going to cram me in with these idiots with only ONE bed?" Mammon raged, floating up to eye level with Fran because he was too scared to stand up to Xanxus instead.

"Why are you complaining to me?" Fran asked, putting his hands up in defense.

"I'll room with you two," Mammon said, "Because I like Bel, and I can pick on Fran."

"You can't pick on Froggy when I'm around," the prince argued.

"Just room with Luss and Levi," Fran agreed.

"No! Boss, please, please don't put me in their cabin."

"Since when did you start acting your age?" asked Squalo. Mammon, extremely offended, stopped complaining, though he was still very upset with the situation.

"You guys... better not gamble...," he growled, walking away. One of the staff saw him immediately, though, and picked him up.

"Aww, which family to you belong to, little fella?" he asked, "I'll find your parents right away."

The Varia all laughed at the 'little fella's situation, and Mammon flushed red with embarassment. "Put me down," he hissed.

"Where do you think your mommy and daddy are?" the staff member asked.

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT! RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT OR I'LL MURDER YOU!" the Arcobaleno yelled.

"Aww, I'd be upset if I didn't know where my parents were, too."

Finally, Squalo decided to go and rescue the Arcobaleno, but when he walked over...

"Oh, are you this little guy's mother?"

Squalo was temporarily stunned, but the rage was only delayed for a second.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIII! YOU DUMBASS! I'M A MAN!" the shark screamed, and Xanxus walked over and put a hand on the Rain's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," the man said to Squalo, before asking, "I just want to find this little boy's parents."

"You...," snarled Mammon, squirming in the grip. Xanxus spoke up.

"Hey, look, that 'child' in your hands is an Arcobaleno. We're all Mafiosi, and, well, let's just say that we could break your neck as easily as we could snap a twig."

"This kid's a rainbow?" the guy asked.

"He must be related to Yamamoto," Bel giggled, following the rest of the Varia over to the commotion. Fran walked over and just picked Mammon up out of the man's hands.

"Sorry, he's mine," the kouhai said, "Aren't you, Monta?"

"Fran... I'm going to slaughter you," the Arcobaleno snarled.

"Aww, I love you too," Fran said, before tossing Mammon over his shoulder so that Lussuria would catch him. "Whoops."

"Fran-chan! Don't THROW Mammon!" Lussuria whispered. Fran ignored him.

"Hey, where are the cabins?" he asked.

"Uh, well which cabins are you in?"

"It just says we have three cabins, it doesn't give details," Bel told him.

"... You're supposed to be on this ship, right...?"

"Yeah, we're boarding the 'Rosy Cheeks,'" Fran said, before adding, "Who named this thing?"

"Shishi~"

"What are you talkin' about? This is the Hobo line," the guy said.

"Oh. Must've misread- wait... what the hell? Who names a ship the Hobo line?" Fran asked.

"Hahaha! Juuuuuust kiddin'. Okay, let's find you guys some rooms."

'Wierdo,' Fran thought as he followed him and the Varia. Bel hooked his arm into Fran's, grinning widely, but the illusionist simply ignored him.

It was soon after that they got to a hall with doors to vacant cabins on either side. Mammon was the first to go into a cabin, followed by Lussuria and Levi. All three of them were silent. Bel and Fran took the room next to theirs, while Xanxus and Squalo took the room on the opposite side of the Storm and Mist's.

Mammon looked around the room they were in. There was one bed, and one armchair. Though the Arcobaleno knew that the most reasonable idea would be for him to sleep on the armchair, he was fast to take the bed.

"I sleep here," he announced in a decisive tone.

"B-but Mammon-chan...," Lussuria pouted. "The bed can fit two people."

"I hope you don't think I'm sleeping in the same bed as you," Mammon told him, "And Levi is a DEFINITE no."

Lussuria turned to Levi and held out his hand. "Come now, rock-paper-scissors to decide who get's the chair."

Levi looked at the Sun for a moment, then walked over to the chair and sat down on it. "I call this spot."

Lussuria made a small noise of protest, but, being Lussuria, he was capable of finding a solution. He took off his Varia jacket and smiled. 'I've at least got a blanket,' he thought, unusually happy for the small luxury.

Meanwhile, Bel and Fran were totally used to sharing a bed, so there were no problems for them. Well, there weren't any problems until Bel discovered the window.

"Ooooh! Froggy, look! You can see everything out here!"

Fran walked over to the window and looked out. "Senpai, there's just the sea, some land, and the sky. That doesn't qualify as 'everything'."

"Whatever. Ooh, lookit, you can see the train station out there!"

"That's just a building, senpai."

"Stop correcting the prince! I don't like it."

"Okay, fine, I'll let you make a fool of yourself by allowing you to chase the birds overboard. And don't say you won't, because you will."

Day One in the Mediterranean.

"Ooh, look, Froggy, I'M KING OF THE WORLD!" Belphegor shouted, spreading his arms out.

"Senpai, you can be the king of Italy, but not the world. And don't give this whole thing a Titanic mood, cause I am NOT gonna drown for you."

"Aw...," Bel pouted, retreating from the front of the ship to walk over by Fran. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Well, it's raining. So the best assumption is that they're inside, laughing at us."

"Why would they be laughing at us?" the prince asked.

"Because we're the ONLY ones crazy enough to stand out here in the rain."

Day Two in the Mediterranean.

"We're stopping in Sicily?" Bel repeated, "Isn't that still part of Italy?"

"Yes, but we're stopping to 'see the sights specific to Sicily'," Squalo said, "so take the opportunity to go on a date or something. Xanxus and I aren't gonna bother with seeing stuff that's a million years old, we're just gonna go out and drink."

"Okay then, but I personally would like to see some of the ancient buildings... is that okay, senpai?" Fran asked.

"Uhm... I guess," the prince replied, looking uncertain. 'I don't wanna bother with seeing stuff that's a million years old either,' he thought.

"We could go see Akrai... Taormina..."

'I have no idea what he's talking about...,' Bel thought, starting to get nervous.

"Just be back before we depart again. That'll be around six," Squalo said.

"A~ah, we'll have so much fun, senpai~," Fran hummed, hugging the prince.

"Yeah... u-ushishi...," Bel agreed, before giving Squalo a pleading face and mouthing 'help the prince'. Squalo grinned and shook his head, before mouthing,

'He's your pet, you keep him happy.'

Day Three in the Mediterranean.

"What do you mean, you want to go swimming?" Fran asked the swordsman. "You won't get pulled back up if you jump over!"

"You idiot," Squalo grumbled, "they have a huge pool on the cruise ship."

"Why on EARTH would they put a pool on a ship?" Fran asked.

"I don't know, but they did," the shark said. "And I'm going swimming."

"Okay... well... good luck with that."

Squalo left for the pool, but, sadly for him, the large pool was completely full. Squalo frowned and looked over to the toddler's pool. A shark will go to extreme measures to get what he wants... but this was a bit much. Squalo hugged his knees close to him, sitting in the pool, and his eyes twitched as he was continuously splashed.

'This... is torture.'

"Release me this instant! What are you doing?"

All of a sudden, another 'toddler' was put in the pool beside Squalo.

"Sorry, little children need to stay in the kiddie pool," said one of the cruise staff, before he walked away. Squalo looked down beside him.

"Mammon?" he questioned. The Arcobaleno looked up at him, and there was an awkward silence.

"... So how did YOU get here?" Mammon asked.

Day Four in the Mediterranean.

"When's our next stop?" Fran asked, sitting beside Bel, who was bringing his fifth plate of food to the table.

"Tomorrow," Xanxus replied, leaning against Squalo, "We're going to stop in Greece next."

"What? I thought that we were... going... a different way... Senpai! Stop eating!"

"But Froggy," Bel protested, "It's an all-you-can-eat buffet! And I can still eat."

"Senpai, you're gonna throw up. You better stop."

"No."

Fran sighed and looked back at the boss. "So what exactly is the route we're taking?"

Xanxus pulled out a map and laid it over on the table, then pointed to Rome. "Okay, so we started here, and we went to Sicily. From there, we're going around Sicily and moving all the way to Greece. Then, we'll go to Turkey, Egypt, and so on."

"I see," Fran said, "Well, Greece is a great place to look at ancient Spartan buildings and artifacts."

Belphegor's happy eating face instantly fell, but Fran took it the wrong way.

"What did I tell you, senpai? I'll bet your stomach hurts now, doesn't it?"

Day Five in the Mediterranean.

"Ahh, we have to see the Parthenon while we're here," Fran said as the Varia disembarked the cruise ship.

"Can't we just go on a date like Squalo and Xanxus...?" Bel asked quietly.

"Hm?"

"Nothing..."

"The Parthenon was built for the godess Athena," Fran informed the prince, "it's a beautiful place, so I've heard."

Bel sighed, letting Fran drag him around.

Day Six in the Mediterranean.

Bel collapsed on the bed, still exhausted after being pulled around Greece like a leashed dog. Fran was so obsessed with getting to see everything that they hadn't even gone out to eat in the end.

"I can't wait to go to Egypt~!" Fran said happily, taking his place next to the prince. "Isn't this fun, senpai?"

"Yeah, it's amazing," Bel said tiredly, "especially the part where we haven't eaten since yesterday morning..."

"Hm?"

"Nothing... it's nothing..."

"Then get up, senpai, it's only noon."

Day Seven in the Mediterranean.

"Senpai," Fran said, tugging on the prince's sleeve. "We've stopped in Egypt, you should get up, we're gonna go see everything right?"

"I can't move, Froggy...," Bel protested. "Please... just go on without me."

Fran frowned and kissed his senpai. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"I'll take a bunch of pictures for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Froggy..."

"Later, senpai..."

"See you, Froggy."

Fran left, and Bel sat up, fist pumping. "Oh yeah!" he cheered, standing up and dancing with his victory. Fran came back in.

"Sorry, I forgot my- ... What are you doing?"

"Er-"

"... Come on, we're leaving."

"Aw..."

Day Eight in the Mediterranean.

"We're supposed to stop in Libya next," Xanxus said, "We should be there by noon."

"Hey, has anyone seen Levi or Lussuria?" Fran asked, "I just realized I never see them around..."

"Oh, yeah... well they're probably around doing something none of us would," Squalo pointed out, "That would make sense, right?"

"But wouldn't Luss usually stalk us?" Bel asked, his voice sounding exhausted.

"Oh, you're right," Mammon spoke up, the first words he'd spoken that didn't involve complaining about the high chair he was in.

"That's definently Lussuria behavior..."

"And Levi would stalk Xanxus."

"Hm... this is kind of spooky."

At noon...

"There's a lot of old relics here, too," Fran said happily, holding Bel's hand, "And mosaics- those are really cool..."

"WHY CAN'T WE JUST GO ON A DATE?" Bel asked loudly, sounding agonized by all the sightseeing.

"Oh, do you want to do that instead?" Fran asked, "Sure, you could've just said so in the beginning."

"Th-thank you...," Bel sighed.

Day Nine in the Mediterranean.

"We're heading back now," Squalo said, leaning back in his seat. "Finally... all of the different food has been really confusing me..."

"Ahh, going back home... that's nice...," Bel said, grinning.

Day Ten in the Mediterranean.

Fran leaned against the rail and watched the birds, his eyes sparkling. "We're almost home, senpai."

"Yeah," Bel said, only a couple feet away, his arms folded behind his head. "Hey, Fran."

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, senpai."

"Ahh, so great to be back home," Mammon said, "Where I won't be treated like a lost child!"

"Voi, we should get you a high chair," Squalo chuckled, "Then Luss would stop putting phonebooks on your seat."

"Shut up."

"Oh, speaking of, we never did find him and Levi," Bel pointed out.

"Oh well."

The Varia returned to their base, which was finally finished, and gasped when they saw that Leviathan and Lussuria were sitting in front of the door, talking.

"What the- How did you get off before us?" Squalo shouted.

"Oh, you're back~!" Lussuria said, standing up and running over. "You guys left us in Sicily, so we just walked back here."

"Walked?" the other Varia repeated, disbelieving.

"Okay, okay, so we stole a car or two. No biggie..."

And so, the hectic season of spring came to an end with a new headquarters and stronger bonds than ever.

-Owari

* * *

><p>Kyaaaaa~! It's the end of A Royal Spring! Which day was your favorite? And I've got a more IMPORTANT QUESTION than that! Okay! I'm going to have a PLOT VOTE!<br>Fran: What's with the capitals?  
>Me: I'M TRYING TO CATCH ATTENTION!<br>Fran: ... Okay?  
>Me: Okay. So here are the two plot subjects, or rather, the new character options:<p>

NewCharacter Option 1: Rasiel (somehow I'd have to make that work...)

NewCharacter Option 2: Ten-Years-Older Fran (through some Ten-Year Bazooka mishap)

PLEASE VOTE IF YOU CARE! XD I'll be counting votes for a while, and I will continue to count while I work on the first chapter of 'A Royal Summer', but I'll stop counting votes after the first chapter is up, because I'll be working on plot by the second chapter.

Now you HAVE to review! Heh heh, I'll return in FIVE DAYS, so PLEASE VOTE WHILE I'M AWAY!


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